Fewer Politicians Lower Costs
Nearly a year ago, Tendring Conservative back-benchers loyally voted to support a recommendation to reduce their allowances by 2 ½%, probably heartened by the thoughts that their more senior colleagues were also taking a 10% cut in their Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA)
Whilst the 2 ½% cut only represented just over £10 a month, they would have considered it the least to be done in the dire current financial circumstances the country faces.
Can you then imagine their feelings on learning that not only had their five County Council colleagues in the Chamber voted themselves an increase of £55 a month, but their most senior colleague on the two Councils, Sarah Candy, had voted herself a £175 a week pay increase as a County Council Cabinet member? This must have been some comfort for the £30 a week she lost from TDC.
£175 a week equates to a 24% annual increase for Councillor Candy at a time when hard-pressed pensioners in our area not only received, at best, a tiny increase in their pensions, but also were obliged to pay for a 1.9% increase in their council tax paid to Essex County Council (74% of the typical £1450 council tax bill).
There are eight Conservative County Councillors in Tendring, seven of whom want to be District Councillors. Three of them already receive more than the Leader of the District Council in allowances. It is quite obvious that they say one thing to local voters, having done exactly the opposite elsewhere.
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