Outrage as Cornwall councillors claim more than £2m in expenses
Cornwall Live readers have been shocked to hear that Councillors serving Cornwall Council have collectively claimed more than £2 million in allowances in the last financial year, with one cabinet member receiving over £16,000 for travel and childcare alone. Readers and residents have been sharing their outrage in our comments section.
Topping the list is Council Leader Linda Taylor, Conservative councillor for St Ives East, Lelant and Carbis Bay, who took home a total of £56,622.26 between April 2023 and March 2024. This includes her basic allowance of £17,496, standard for all councillors, plus a significant special responsibility allowance for her leadership role amounting to £32.367.
Single father Councillor Gardner is particularly noteworthy as he is among the trio of council members to claim the carer's allowance, intended to cover care for children or adults with disabilities or age-related issues. His claims exceeded those of any other councillor by more than £12,500. A necessity, he argues, stating: "I personally think it is wrong where we have a system that only people who are retired or have significant private incomes can afford to be councillors."
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A leaked document ahead of official publication on Cornwall Council's website reveals that across all its members, the council paid out a staggering sum of £2,018,942.80 in councillor expenses from 2023 to 2024.
Commenter RickOshay says: “There was a time when people put themselves forward to be councillors out of a sense of community and civic pride, however some now see it just as a lucrative career opportunity.”
Sambadude replies: “Parish councillors are free, the county councillors have to travel from all over the county. If you only have county councillors who have wealth then you will only have very narrow-minded decision makers.”
Dis1954 writes: “Cornwall has a population less than half of Devon, yet Devon has a third less than Cornwall. I don’t suppose Devon is run any worse than Cornwall for having far less councillors, if Cornwall had the same amount of councillors per head of population as Devon has it would save over £1.3m in tax payers money.”
DuchyGuy thinks: “In my opinion, these councillors have all jumped on the gravy train that is Cornwall council. Where is the accountability?”
Sambadude points out: “If you want a full spectrum of councillors then you have to assume that some cannot afford to travel for free. If you live in Bude you will have higher expenses than someone from Truro. You get travel expenses for work, why should councillors be different?”
Dis1954 replies: “I do not think most companies pay travel expenses when you travel to your normal place of business.”
OldCornishBoy asks: “Your average person has to pay for childcare out of their own pocket, so why are we paying for theirs?”
Mike261265 agrees: “Child care and parking! Whatever next? This is why pensioners are being targeted.”
Rosy1donaghey123 adds: “Crikey they get a lot of money, half of that money could have been spent on decent transport for all. Then perhaps they would not have to claim so much in travel expenses.”
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Colinfromcornwall believes: “It’s evident that this is not serving the interests of the people of Cornwall. The councillors just sit back and take the easy route. Waste of time and taxpayers money.”
AGCagrees: “Their expenses are higher than the average salary in Cornwall and what do they actually do for it? Maybe they can donate some of their expenses to a pension heating fund?”
Teddytumble adds: “Blimey almost £17,500 just for expenses, and it is expected that pensioners and others are expected to live on a lot less than that. It's little wonder that there are so many people in Cornwall with mental health problems, this sort of thing must make them feel worse. It is disgraceful, especially as there are so many families living in extreme poverty, some of whom cannot even find a decent place to live.”
Triggerandhisdoggo thinks: “I don’t think that is a great amount of money for the responsibility.”
Xmas finally adds: “No wonder council tax is so high!”
How do you feel about Councillors claiming expenses? Is it only fair as they do a good job or are they taking the mick? Have your say in our comments section.