Theresa May’s £150,000 pay packet is dwarfed by that of many council employees up and down the country. Nearly 600 council staff now earn more money than the Prime Minister each year, and a report from the Taxpayers Alliance reveals that thousands of local authority employees earn six-figure sums. With many councils talking up fears about funding social care – and upping tax to pay for it – how much longer can these wages be justified?
For many households facing rising council tax bills, the news that 539 council staff earn more than the PM will come as ‘a further gut-wrenching blow’, says the Daily Mail. The paper reports that nearly 2,500 council workers earn £100,000 a year or more – with Southwark alone handing 44 staff six-figure pay packets. ‘How can council leaders’, asks the Mail, ‘justify ANY pay rises for senior bureaucrats?’ The paper says that if bills for council tax payers are going up, all of the cash should go on ‘bolstering threadbare services for the elderly, not lining officials’ pockets’.
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