Tory council chiefs under attack as figures show they earn even more than Prime Minister

Published: 21 January, 2011
by JOSH LOEB

City Hall bosses get £100k+ salaries

TWO Westminster Council officers earn more than the Prime Minister, according to figures released by City Hall – and a further 20 senior employees earn more than £100,000 a year. 

The revelation has sparked attacks by opposition councillors, who want top pay reined in during a period of cuts to council services. The figures show that chief executive Mike More earns £200,379 a year with a deferred salary of £36,068. Strategic director for finance and performance Barbara Moorhouse earns £166,853 with a deferred salary of £18,147.

Westminster Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg said: “Even government ministers believe that Westminster Conservatives have got their priorities wrong. 

“They say ‘we’re all in this together’, but for some people it is business as usual while the most vulnerable bear the brunt of the cuts.”

Councillor Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster Council, said: “In a period of austerity it’s absolutely right that public sector pay should be closely scrutinised as we need to be accountable for how we spend public money. To that end, Westminster’s chief executive Mike More has not taken his full salary for the past two years and has voluntarily taken an 18 per cent pay cut. This is an arrangement that will continue for the foreseeable future. Along with the strategic director of finance, Mike and the other senior directors are collectively responsible for a budget of almost £1billion and the delivery of hundreds of ser­vices in the heart of London, and their salaries match the work they do.

“While it may help some local authorities for their chief officers to take a pay cut, we do not believe that this will resolve the long-term funding problems faced by the public sector.

“With far fewer resources available, the solution is for councils to pool their resources and share services to drive down costs and eliminate duplication to deliver savings to local tax­payers”.