Last year was a bumper payday for Britain’s council staff – 238 pocketed bigger paycheques than the prime minister. Councils’ penchant for sky-high pay packets shows no sign of abating…
Tory-dominated Hampshire County Council is advertising for a new chief executive on a whopping £250,000 annual salary – 149% of what Starmer earns. Naturally, “hybrid working” is part of the package. The new council boss will be expected to “ensure the quality and sustainability of core services while addressing the challenging financial landscape” ahead of next year’s local elections. The government refused the council’s request for a 15% council tax rise earlier this year, instead settling for a 5% hike. Now the council is raiding £68.2 million from reserves to patch up next year’s budget. Perhaps not lobbing gold-plated contracts at senior staff would be a better place to start…
For £250,000, the council could:
The council taxpayer may have a view on which should be prioritised. UK DOGE recommends costs are cut here…
Speaking to Adam Boulton on Times Radio about kicking the Golders Green suspect, Heidi Alexander said:
“I thought that if I was in the shoes of that police officer, then if I’m honest, given the situation, and the fact that he had a backpack on his back, and they were worried about whether that might go off, I could, if I was a police officer, frankly, I could see myself having taken similar action.”