THE councillors who have been elected to represent people on Wokingham Borough Council have rejected calls to cut their own pay.

But they have also agreed their allowances should not be increased this year, while so many people are struggling financially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes after an independent remuneration panel recommended that allowances should be frozen until 2022.

However, Cllr John Halsall, leader of the council, said it would be “short sighted and completely counter-productive” for councillors to continue refusing increases in the coming years.

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All Wokingham councillors are currently entitled to a basic allowance of £7,784 a year, but those with extra responsibilities receive more.

The council leader gets £27,784 a year, the leader of the opposition receives £15,284 and executive members take home £17,784.

At a council meeting on January 21, Labour councillors called for the basic allowance to be reduced to £7,360, because that’s how much they received in 2010, when the government began imposing austerity measures that have left millions facing financial hardship.

However, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors voted against the pay cut, claiming that low allowances discourage many people – including working parents and people on low incomes – from becoming councillors.

The last increase was approved in 2017.

“Members give up huge amounts of their time to serve their local communities and if the sums in question were broken down to the hours served, the rates would be demonstrably insulting,” said Cllr Halsall. 

“At the next review, members must be prepared to accept much more radical increases if we are to avoid councillors who are a self-selecting bunch of largely retired white men.

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“That’s what they will get if the allowances do not attract individuals of calibre, motivation or decision-making experience.”

Cllr Lindsay Ferris, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said it would be “inappropriate” to increase allowances this year.

“It is certainly not the right time to change or increase any of the allowances, particularly as so many members of the public have had financial issues due to Covid-19.

“There are forecasts of increased levels of unemployment, plus many people now have little, or no likelihood of any sort of pay rise.”