Staging next week’s referendum on whether the UK should change its voting system will cost more than £500,000 in Bradford, with taxpayers picking up the bill.

Councils are expected to pay for the referendum before claiming back their costs from Government.

The payout, described by one of the district’s leading politicians as “mindblowing”, comes at the same time as Bradford Council has to make millions of pounds of savings.

The official cost figures released by the Government as part of the Referendum Act show the referendum is set to cost £79.8 million to host – including 517,824 in Bradford.

For more details, read Thursday's Telegraph & Argus,