Tory Coalition proposals for councillor pay rises have been slammed by County Durham Labour.
Labour Leader, Cllr Carl Marshall branded a report recommending a rise of 2% to councillor allowances as “scandalous”, set against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis and recent increases to National Insurance contributions and Council Tax hikes.
Council Leader, Tory member Richard Bell, will today move the proposal at County Durham Council – at which Labour councillors will vote against the controversial move.
“How any County Durham councillor could consider awarding themselves a pay rise in the current climate is beyond me,” said Cllr Marshall. “It’s scandalous that Cllr Bell – who represents a party that only agreed to feed hungry kids during school holidays when it was shamed into it by Marcus Rashford – thinks it’s fine to consider awarding himself and Coalition colleagues a financial boost, while thousands of families in Durham live in poverty as a direct result of Conservative Government policy that’s blighted our county for over a decade.
“If this goes through, I hope members can still look at themselves in the mirror. This Tory-led Coalition, propped up by LibDem and so-called Independents, has only been running the Council for seven months and has so far refused to condemn horrendous council cuts, refused to criticise the Government for its unfair National Insurance hike, refused to call for an extension to the £20 Universal Credit uplift and ignored Labour’s demand for a fairer funding deal for County Durham from Government…but may feel they’ve earned the right to a pay rise?”
Cllr Bell has pledged a “free vote” for Coalition councillors on the matter, rather than expecting elected members to vote en-bloc with the group’s whip, on the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel, which has proposed the 2% increase on Basic Allowances for the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2022/23.
Cllr Marshall added:
“Cllr Bell has not allowed any Coalition councillor a free vote on a single issue that might improve the lives of families and taxpayers in County Durham, but he lets them vote with their conscience now? He’s fooling nobody, and neither are the LibDems or Independents – Cllr Bell, and everyone helping prop up this shaky coming together of right-wing councillors, have run the council for half a year and think they deserve more money, while the people who voted for them struggle to make ends meet. Shame on them.
“Labour will oppose any raise to allowances, just as we did for the 12 years prior when we oversaw the running of Durham County Council. As Tory austerity bit, we rejected allowance increases year after year, and will continue to do so until such a time prosperity and quality of life increases for everyone across our county.”
Full report: Members Allowance Scheme Report (PDF)