Tories Line Their Pockets

10.34.47pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 13th Jul 2005

Face of specimen five-hundred (500) euro banknote. (photography: Courtesy of the European Central Bank (ECB))

Conservative Councillors have come under fire for lining their pockets within the first week of taking control of West Berkshire Council.

Under Lib Dem control all the Scrutiny Chair posts, which attract allowances of £3,390, were given to the Conservatives to allow scrutiny of the administration. The Conservatives took all those allowances, now in control, and have handed just one back for the Chair of Children & Young people committee, ignoring the convention of allowing the opposition to scrutinise finance.

Conservative Councillors will now £93,740 of taxpayers money compared to the £67,771 claimed by the Lib Dems when in power. The Conservatives have almost halved the money available to the opposition, from the £36,135 they claimed to just £16,945.

Jeff Brooks, Leader of the opposition said "Shame on you, this is a bad start, frankly, I am quite disgusted. You are going to scrutinise yourselves and I am aghast you have done that."

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