Letter: Unfair Allowances Lead to Unfair Representation and Decisions

Published on: 10 Feb, 2023
Updated on: 10 Feb, 2023

From: Mark Stamp

In response to: Guildford Needs Good Candidates for Its Borough Council

The workload required to do a good job as a councillor (without even taking Executive roles into account), takes up far more time than is possible while in other employment, (unless you can survive on minimum sleep and have no other commitments, such as children).

For those of working age another job is normally needed given the allowances [approx £6,000 basic] received by borough councillors

The result is, those who can afford to be councillors are retired, have independent means, or a partner with a higher-paying job.

As a result, the council does not reflect the population of the borough, meaning decisions can be unrepresentative, even if well-meaning.

For me, this is just one of the reasons why I support a unitary authority. Why pay two councillors to do what could be better achieved by one, and one who is fairly compensated?

See also this 2012 article: Open Debate – Should We Pay Our Councillors?