SWINDON councillors voted to give themselves a 43 per cent increase in their allowances and new council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns) will benefit the most.
Outgoing council leader Kevin Small (Lab, Central) would have seen his allowance increase from £10,000 to £15,100, but as an ordinary councillor from next Friday that increase will now be from £3,623 to £5,300.
Councillors do not receive a wage for their work, which is officially regarded as voluntary, but receive allowances for travel and civic-related activities.
The calculations, which were agreed by all three parties, were based on the recommendations of an independent remuneration panel and national figures which found that councillors give 57 per cent of their free time to civic duty.
Milton Keynes and South Gloucester-shire give their members £5,500 and £6,000 respectively.
Swindon Council exists on a budget of £180m and provides services for 180,000 people, but has one of the highest paid public servants in the South West Simon Birch receives a salary of £125,000 for his role as chief executive.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article