COUNCILLORS have voted overwhelmingly against taking a pay rise, rejecting it as “a massive disservice to the county” .
A recommended two per cent increase in county councillors’ allowances prompted numerous declarations in a full council meeting.
But there was no argument about the outcome as Durham County Council members agreed it would be wrong to take a rise.
An independent remuneration panel had recommended a two per cent increase in councillors’ basic allowance in the next financial year.
The £13,300 allowance for each of the 126 councillors has been unchanged in more than a decade, with three previous recommended increases rejected.
Cllr Richard Bell, Conservative group leader, deputy council leader and cabinet member for finance, said: “The joint administration… is not making a recommendation, leaving it to the judgment of every member.
“Issues like this should not be decided by group leaders. It’s time that members considered these issues for themselves as a free vote.
“I see no real need to have a protracted debate on this matter.”
He said it was “disappointing” to have to consider the allowance and the council had written to the Secretary of State last year “saying we should not be involved in this process” , to no avail.
Labour group leader Cllr Carl Marshall agreed, saying: “As politicians we shouldn’t be expected at all to be discussing allowances that are paid to us.
“If ever there was a conflict of interest, I think that is.
“From my point of view and from the Labour group’s point of view, it’s absolutely scandalous that we can be sitting here looking at anything like a two per cent increase in allowances.
“We are unanimous in our views as individuals as part of that group that it’s unacceptable.”
He said many residents were “on a financial cliff edge” facing a cost-of-living crisis with job losses, a public sector pay freeze and £0.25bn council spending cuts after a “horrendous 10 years” .
He added: “We shouldn’t be having a pay increase.
“We think it’s unfair, unjust, it goes against the grain with the staff and the troubles that our communities are going to be facing.”
In the final vote, 103 councillors voted in favour of Cllr Marshall’s motion for no allowance increase.
No one opposed it and three abstained.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
