Quote:
Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp
There's also the point that in order to claim expenses one needs to have actually spent them in the first place.
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Not necessarily spent as such - from what I understand they get a basic allowance which all councillors get, then they get extra if they have a cabinet post. That, of course, means that it's only Conservatives at the moment who have the larger basic allowance. Then they get additional allowances for being part of certain committees and attending certain meetings. Clearly, the leader of the council is going to claim the most because he's going to be on most committees as well as getting the basic allowance and the basic leaders allowance.
What all this doesn't take into account is the amount of time they put in for their constituents. They are 'on call' every minute of the day, and some people wouldn't hesitate to ring at all hours of the day.
I had to pop into the council offices yesterday and whilst there I bumped into four councillors. This was the middle of the afternoon so obviously none of them were earning money elsewhere.