Allowances anger on Arun District Council
At the same time, they awarded more money to their deputy leader, Roger Elkins, in spite of an independent panel's recommendation that his allowance should be frozen.
Tories controlling Arun voted through a wide ranging package of changes to allowances at last Wednesday's full council meeting. They included cutting the money paid to Simon McDougall, leader of the main opposition, Lib-Dem, group, by almost half, to 3,917, and scrapping altogether payments to Labour leader Mike Northeast, who previously received almost 2,000, and a slightly smaller allowance for Independent leader Sylvia Olliver.
"Wrong message"
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Hide AdAll councillors will also receive a four per cent rise in their basic allowance, rising to 4,870, in spite of opposition councillors warning that the increase sent out the wrong message to Arun residents, many of whom faced financial hardship as a result of the economic downturn.
Senior Conservatives pointed out this was the first rise in two years.
But it was the cutbacks in opposition leaders' allowances which stirred up the fiercest debate seen in the Arun council chamber for some years.
Mr Northeast declared: "It seems that the leader of this council is hell-bent on doing away with any opposition to her cabinet. That is what I am grossly opposed to."
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