Councillors take the money and stay shtum

Politicians wonder why the general public don’ t hold them in very high regard.. and then Peterborough City councillors go and award themselves a collective pay increase of £186,000!

Whether it’s stupid, arrogant, justified, or fair, one thing is for sure... it is politically naive.

Do they really expect the public not to blow a collective gasket? Do they care? Whether or not the councillors deserve the increase is frankly irrelevant.

Context is king. The context is that this is the council that has just agreed a deal with a private company which will see 92 decent, hard-working families evicted from their homes, some just before Christmas.

The context is that this is a council that is battling savage funding cuts that has seen councillors do everything from privatising fostering to cutting grass cutting and putting up council tax bills.

The context is that times a are tough for most ordinary Peterborians and they expect some leadership both political and moral from the people who they gave their votes to.

The mealy-mouthed a arguments for the increase d don’t hold water.

They hide behind the fact t that an independent panel h has recommended the rise.

An independent panel might well recommend a pay increase for a mechanic from Westwood or a nursery worker from Fletton but if the organisation which employs them can’t afford such a rise then it won’t happen no matter how justified it is.

And the argument that an increase is needed to attract a better class of councillor is served up with enough irony to fill several town halls.

Many councillors are hard working, decent conscientious, communityspirited people who are deserving of respect.

But this decision shows a lack of respect for the ordinary man and woman of Peterborough – the people the councillors are supposed to represent.

Which is perhaps why when this newspaper emailed every single city councillor asking them to explain their decision many of them couldn’t be bothered to reply.

And politicians wonder why the general public doesn’t hold them in very high regard.