1 April 2025, 11:38

By Jonathan Werran

It is fair to say that the annual TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) ‘Town Hall Rich List’ is feared and loathed by council leaders as a yearly punishment beating ordeal.

Council tax bills are annually hiked to the full 5 per cent extent or even more in places like Birmingham and Croydon as punishment for the financial failure of previous local administrations. This adds insult to injury.

Helped no doubt by the fact that more councils have got their act together in filing their financial audits, the stark TPA figures show that in 2023/24 a record 3,906 council officials received more than £100,000, with 1,092 receiving over £150,000.

With the experience of many council taxpayers being higher charges by direct debit each year in exchange for, in many cases, fewer services, it’s hard to justify what seem like instances of municipal largesse. Why, for instance, does Bromley Council have eight directors on its books on more than £200,000 a year........

© LBC