Redbridge Tories under fire for yet more councillors' allowances

11.32.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 26th May 2006

Proposals for more special allowances for Conservative councillors were narrowly pushed through last night's (Thursday) meeting of Redbridge Council, after a heated debate and strong protests from the opposition parties. The new package adds another £30,000 to the cost of members' allowances - on top of the normal inflation-linked increase - taking the total cost to local taxpayers of payments to councillors to more than £1 million per year.

Two amendments by the Liberal Democrats to contain the costs were only narrowly defeated, winning support from all opposition councillors and one Conservative rebel, with another Conservative absent and a third switching her vote during the counting.

LibDem Resources Spokesman Cllr Ian Bond said: "This is an outrageous abuse of public money - the second time in three years that the Tories have resorted to new allowances to try and maintain control over their group."

"There are now more so-called 'special' allowances than there are Tories in total, and their 'backbench' consists of just one out of their 34 members!", Cllr Bond said. "This goes against both government guidance and the clear recommendations of the independent remuneration panel, and I do not see how all the payments can possibly meet the legal criteria. For example the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the General Purposes Committee will be paid a total of nearly £5000, when the committee has no scheduled meetings and hardly any decisions to make. Special allowances alone will cost every household in the Borough nearly £5 in Council Tax this year, and whilst many can be justified, the tragedy is that the Tories' self-interest will bring the whole system into disrepute."

"Having been elected for another four years they think they are beyond criticism, and this decision is quite simply a massive 'two fingers' to Redbridge taxpayers", Cllr Bond said. "Many of the Conservatives themselves know that what they have done is deeply wrong, but - with one honourable exception - they have been whipped into line by greed and fear".