There is no incentive for the Labour Councillors to vote to move meetings to the evening, when so many of them are in receipt of extra allowances.
Of the 36 Labour Councillors, they have 10 Cabinet members, 8 executive support members, 5 (of 6) scrutiny chairs, the chairs of licensing and planning, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, who all receive special responsibility allowances. That’s 27 of 36 receiving extra money on top of their basic allowance.
By contrast, just 3 of the 24 opposition Councillors receive special allowances direct from the Council – the leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups, and the solitary opposition scrutiny chair.
I should add for completeness that outside bodies also pay special allowances, and these break down as 6 Labour (2 Fire, 2 Transport, 1 Waste Disposal, Police) and 2 opposition (1 Fire, 1 Transport).
We should make the role of Cllr Fully open for people of all walks of life or roles.
