Council fat cats received record-high levels of pay and pensions last year, while hard-pressed taxpayers paid record-high levels to their supposedly cash-strapped local authorities. In a shocking new set of data from campaign group The Taxpayers’ Alliance, at least 3,906 council employees received total remuneration of £100,000 or more in 2023-24.
This is 26% higher than in 2022-23, while the number of council employees taking home over £150,000 has risen by 32% in the same period. 262 council fat cats walked home last year with more than £200,000 in combined salary, bonuses and pension contributions, 50% more than in 2022-23. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage blasted: “Our councils are fundamentally broken and are no longer able to deliver for local people.”
Nottingham (left) and Woking (right) have filed for bankruptcy but are still splurging on salaries (Image: Smashman, Wikipedia / Woking Council)
According to the Taxpayers’ Alliance think tank, this now represents the largest number of people in receipt of at least £100,000 or £150,000 in total remuneration since they began collecting data in 2007.
Some of the highest-paying councils are the same councils who have either applied for bankruptcy in recent years, or are raising their tax rates by the highest amount in the country.
Of the six councils that have declared bankruptcy since 2020, for have failed to publish their accounts – namely Birmingham, Thurrock, Croydon and Slough.
However Nottingham and Woking, who declared so-called Section 114 notices in 2023, each have eight staff earning over £100,000.
Nottingham, run by Labour, is spending a total of £1,296,167 on staff whose salary, pension and bonus came to over £100,000. The CEO took home £226,205.
LibDem-run Woking came to £1,134,175, with the CEO taking home £194,045.
Nigel Farage is promising to cut wasteful council spending (Image: Getty)
Of the six councils who have been allowed to hike tax rates beyond the legal limit of 4.99% this year, five have 10 or more staff taking home six figure sums.
Bradford Council, whose hard-hit residents will suffer a 10% in council tax this year, is spending £1,463,966 on staff whose total remuneration totals more than £100,000.
Labour-run Newham, which is imposing a 9% council tax rise on residents this year, has a whopping 46 staff taking home over £100,000.
The London borough’s total bill comes to over £6 million in 2023-24, with the CEO raking in £205,632.
LibDem-run Windsor and Maidenhead, also imposing a 9% council tax rise, has a £100,000 salary bill of £1,596,147 from 12 employees.
The party is also in control of Somerset council, where it is levying a 7.5% council tax rise this year and has an eyewatering 54 staff on over £100,000.
The CEO of Somerset council, who earns £243,743, has overseen their six-figure workforce bill climb to £7,526,355, while demanding local residents pick up the tab.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s John O’Connell accused council workers of ‘feathering their own nests’ (Image: Taxpayers’ Alliance)
Meanwhile Conservative-run Hampshire county Council, who asked the government for permission to hike council tax by 15% this year, has 50 members of staff taking home over £100,000, summing £6,411,700.
Angel Rayner blocked this request, limiting the council to a 4.99% in tax this year.
In total, 238 council employees up and down the country received a higher salary than the Prime Minister – even when discounting bonuses and pension contributions.
The highest remunerated council employee in 2023-24 was Annemarie O’Donnell, chief executive of Glasgow city council who received £567,317 in total remuneration.
This included a £209,472 salary and £357,845 in pension contributions. By contrast, 32.9% of children in Glasgow live in poverty.
Burnley council was the only council in the country in 2023-24 that had no employees receiving over £100,000.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a record breaking year in many respects for taxpayers as the country hurtles towards a record tax burden, all while the public sector continues to feather its nest.
Britain’s top five council earners
Three of Britain’s most highly-paid council officials (Image: Express)
- Annemarie O’Donnell (left), Chief executive at Glasgow City before retiring in May 2024 – Total £567,317
- (Salary £209,472, pension £357,845)
- RA Shimmin (top right), Chief executive at Buckinghamshire – Total £317,730
- (Salary £255,000, pension £62,730)
- A McLaren (bottom right), Police commissioner at the City of London – Total £290,000
- (Salary £197,000, bonuses £11,000, other £22,000, pension £60,000)
- Carolyn Williamson, Chief executive at Hampshire – Total £289,979
- (Salary £246,162, pension £43,817)
- B Reilly, Executive director of housing and regeneration for Wandsworth and Richmond – Total £283,782
- (Salary £238,272, pension £45,510)
“As our latest town hall rich list demonstrates, the number of council staff with six-figure remuneration packages has surged at the same time that services are being slashed and council tax is being hiked above inflation.
“Local residents can look up their own authority in our list and judge the quality of services and their council tax bill against the pay packets of their council bosses.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage pledged: “Reform will send in the auditors, get rid of the fraudulent contracts and cut wasteful spending. We won’t rely on empty promises and rhetoric like the Tories and Labour who have come before us.
“A vote for the Conservatives is a wasted vote. They don’t deserve your vote after the state they’ve left these councils in.
“If you want Reform you need to vote for it on May 1st. Your council is broken and only Reform will fix it.”
