As I write, electioneering is gathering pace, soon the councillors will be dropping their leaflets through the letterbox, urging everyone to elect them again for a further four-year period.
That being the case, it is high time that Joe Public is made aware of the real truth regarding our councillors.
All statements listed below relate to the financial year 2013/14 (the latest figures available).
1. South Holland has 37 district councillors, 25 of which are Conservative, the remaining 12 being Independents.
2. The Basic Allowance (BA) for all councillors is £6,000 per year. In addition, 18 Tory councillors receive additional payments for so-called Special Responsibilities (SR), these payments range from a few hundred pounds to multi thousands per annum.
3. The BA of councillors without SR equates to £92.30 per week after 20 per cent income tax is deducted.
4. The number of councillors who are both of working age and have a proper job can be counted on the fingers of both hands.
5. A total of seven of our district councillors are also county councillors and as such receive a BA of £8,184 per annum, again some of these are also in receipt of SR plus expenses.
6. In the financial year 2012/13 (when the BA was £5,796) our councillors collectively cost the residents of South Holland £338,000 made up of BA, SR and expenses. For the year 2013/14 this figure increased by 6.2 per cent to £360,000, mainly due to the fact that BA was increased to £6,000 per annum. This increase (3.52 per cent) was not made known to the wider public.
7. South Holland is bordered by three other Lincolnshire constituencies which are listed below, along with their BAs for the year 2013/14, thus:
a. North Kesteven – BA £4,052 per annum – 32.5 per cent less than South Holland.
b. South Kesteven – BA £4,380 per annum – 27 per cent less than South Holland.
c. Boston – BA £4,400 per annum – 26.7 per cent less than South Holland.
This begs the question, why the very wide disparity in BA among neighbouring councils?
7. South Holland has two unique features relative to it’s neighbours:
a. It has two deputy leaders.
b. It’s BA of £6,000 per annum is in the top ten of similar councils in the UK.
I found it necessary to publish the above information so that voters can make an informed choice come polling day.
Whilst I am well aware that South Holland is traditionally Conservative (as I was until Cameron took the helm), it is obvious to me that Conservatism is not working in the best interests of the local population.
Voters should be aware that local elections affect the well-being of local people, regardless of their national political preference.
By means of tactical voting, the Tories stranglehold of the council can be eliminated for the common good.
My personal preference for the outcome of local elections would definitely be a hung council.
All statements made above are in the public domain, and can be verified by anyone who is prepared and able to undertake the research.
Finally, in order to prevent “information overload”, I have kept this as brief as possible, however, I have many more revelations that will be the subject of further letters in coming weeks – watch this space!
Gerry Hutchinson
Willder’s Garth
Holbeach
