TaxPayers' Alliance slams Mansfield and Ashfield councils for 'high cost of politics'

A campaign led by the Alliance has found that Mansfield District Council spent £466,000 on councillors' allowances in 2018/19, while Ashfield councillors claimed £398,805 in the same year.

This is compared to much lower costs of neighbouring councils such as Broxtowe, which spent £286,437 and Newark and Sherwood which spent £249,924 - close to half of Mansfield's figure.

It follows a change at Ashfield District Council earlier this year that saw three new cabinet positions created at a cost of about £220,000 over the four-year term - which was labelled as "jobs for the boys" by Labour members.

In its campaign, the Alliance has called on both councils to "justify" their high costs and urged them to "reduce their allowances".

Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the Alliance, said: "We have been exposing the sky-high costs of members' allowances in both Mansfield and Ashfield District Councils.

"Their costs are far higher than many other councils in Nottinghamshire and we want to know why that is.

"Despite having a similar population, it seems ridiculous that their costs are soaring, while others are noticeably lower.

"To make matters worse, Ashfield District Council has just appointed five new members to the cabinet, which means they are picking up nearly £60,000 in special responsibility allowances.

"If councillors' allowances weren't so high, there would be more money to spend on front line services like bin collections.

"We are calling on the councils to justify their high cost of politics."

But Andy Abrahams, mayor of Mansfield, defended the council's high costs and said measures have been put in place to ensure money is spent "in the best interest of the district".

He said: “I am acutely aware of the need for public money to be spent judiciously.

“Members allowances are set every four years by the full council after advice from an independent panel which compares Mansfield’s allowances to other similar authorities.

"The last allowances review was in January 2019 when no increases were made on the rate set in 2015.

"This means that by the time the next review is scheduled, in 2023, members’ allowances will not have risen for eight years.

"Additionally, I made a £30,000 a year saving in members’ allowances by reducing the number of cabinet posts from seven to five and the council also merged two committees.

"I am also putting something back into the local community by donating 30 per cent of my salary to the mayor’s 500 Fund to support community groups and good causes in the district.

"All these measures demonstrate our commitment to ensuring elected members provide value for money, and that council money is spent in the best interest of the district and council tax payers."

Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Ashfield District Council leader, added: "I think the TaxPayers' Alliance has been a bit naughty here because they know full well that councillors do not set their own wages.

"It is set by an independent panel and we simply follow their recommendations. For a long time and since I was in opposition I have said that our basic allowance is high and that we should reduce it. But again, this is not something we decide.

"We're going through the process now into our expenses and recommendations will be made in the new year, and I hope to see some decreases.

"One thing I do have control of is the amount of cabinet positions we have, and when Labour were in power they had six members plus a leader - I've changed this to nine plus the leader.

"It has allowed me to stop doing two extra cabinet jobs and focus on strategic planning, it has meant we can focus solely on leisure and it has helped us bring new investment into the district.

"It is not exorbitant wages and when it helps us provide vital services for the public I think we should welcome this."