It’s the most humble of chocolate bars and for years has been informally used as a measure of the cost of living.

And now the Cadbury’s Freddo has spawned a role during the setting of Bury Council’s budget for 2022/23.

During a Bury full council debate on council tax setting a chocolate bar featuring the cartoon frog was bizarrely held up by council leader Eamonn O’Brien to illustrate a political point.

Cllr O’Brien was countering a proposed Conservative amendment to the Labour-run council’s budget, which included a three per cent rise in council tax bills for residents.

The Conservatives amendment, which proposed a lower tax rise of two per cent, also included a 10 per cent decrease in Bury Market rents and promises to make the filling of potholes a top priority.

Cllr O’Brien used a Freddo analogy, saying the alternative proposals wouldn’t be enough to buy a bar a week for households.

He said: “We’ve heard a lot from the other side about how they are the champions of low tax and they wrestle at night over putting up council tax.

“Let’s look at this as a contrast to what we’re proposing and how it would impact our residents.

“If you break down the difference between ours and their proposals for a typical Band A property it would save them 3p a day – and that’s going to revolutionise lives in Bury is it?

“Twenty-one pence a week, it doesn’t even buy you a Freddo any more.”

Around a minute later, as he continued his speech, Cllr O’Brien was handed a Freddo bar by another Labour member which he flourished above his head to laughter from his own side, saying: ‘That’s what you’ll get from the Tories, not even that, once a week.”

The Conservative amended budget was voted down by the council with Labour’s budget gaining approval.

Freddo bars are currently for sale on the Sainsbury’s website for 25p per bar.