Lib Dems Welcome Move To Freeze County Councillors’ Basic Pay

Cllr Andy Pellew

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed an independent panel’s recommendation that County Councillors’ pay should remain unchanged.

The move backs up the Liberal Democrats’ view that a freeze in Councillor allowances is the right decision at a time when jobs and services are being cut.

The Lib Dems are now calling for the £100,000 Conservatives set aside to give themselves a 25 per cent pay rise to be invested in free public transport for 16-19-year-olds seeking employment or education. They will put this in a motion and ask for council support on March 27.

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat Leader, Kilian Bourke said: “The Liberal Democrats have consistently called for a freeze in Councillor allowances so we welcome the panel's recommendations.

"It was wrong of the Conservatives to give themselves a 25 per cent pay rise at a time of wage freezes, redundancies and cuts to front line services.  These proposals better reflect the times we are living in.”

Local Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Andy Pellew said: "The work we do as County Councillors is a lot more rewarding than just a pay cheque at the end of the month and it was a mistake by the Conservative administration to try and measure the work we do on a purely financial basis."

"It would also be a mistake just to read this report in terms of Councillors allowances. As someone with a full-time job and a young family it's important to me that the panel also recognised that the timing of meetings, always during the day, is an issue for people like me who work."