COUNCILLORS will not accept an increase in their allowances despite the recommendations of an independent body, the leader of Croydon Council has said.
In its report published this week, the panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London said council leaders should be paid as much as MPs, who are paid a salary of £66,396.
The panel also recommended that allowances should be linked to the pay settlement local authorities get from the government, so they receive the same increases as staff.
Council leader Tony Newman will receive around £53,000 a year after leading Labour to victory in last month's council elections.
He told the Advertiser he had "not even contemplated" accepting the panel's recommendations.
"I can categorically tell you we will not be taking an increase," he said.
"Neither I, nor my colleagues, will be taking any of the recommended increases.
"I've made it clear that the overall budget for councillors' allowances in Croydon either stays the same or, if anything, it goes down. It will not go up.
"I think councillors get paid fairly and I'm acutely aware that in somewhere like Croydon the average wage is only about £25,000. I can only repeat that I'm not even contemplating it."
The panel said only two boroughs had increased members' allowances following a one per cent pay award in the local government settlement in 2013/14.
Nine others had reduced allowances since the panel's last report in 2010, which recommended changes to ensure members with special responsibilities receive equal pay across London.
