Mail.
A council boss was arrested today after allegedly giving himself a £26,000 pay rise while other staff had had their wages frozen as part of the national austerity drive.It's a bit like giving a kid the key to a sweetshop allowing those in power the means to determine their own pay and perks. It didn't work for Westminster and it surely doesn't work at local government levels.
Anthony O'Sullivan, chief executive of the Labour-controlled Caerphilly council in South Wales, was questioned by police on suspicion of fraud and misconduct in public office.
Most employees of the council have had their annual pay rise limited to just one per cent in a bid to save money - but O'Sullivan was awarded a salary hike of nearly 20 per cent thanks to a report he wrote himself.
His salary was increased from £132,000 to £158,000, and 20 other top bosses also received similarly outsized increases following a secretive meeting to determine executives' salaries.
I am presuming that this guy is a Labour supporter of course, but it seems likely working in the public services providing a role as a chief executive, after all that's where a lot of Labour supporting placemen (and women) ended up. I can't imagine either that a Labour run council would accept anyone not sympathetic to their cause either come to that.
Still it goes to show that those in charge of us via elections and those they choose to run things are less than equal to the task.
Perhaps it's time to get rid of them all and bring in a law preventing anyone who has ever served as a councillor or a member of the local government administration from ever holding a post in local (or national) government ever again.
4 annotations:
Better still. Why not go over to Direct Democracy and let us the people tell them what they can and cannot have.
You want my tax money. Tell me what you want it for, ask me nicely and, do not forget to say thank you.
Oh, and while you are about it, you can only spend it on things that we the people want.
Got it ? Good !
The whole thing stinks but how the hell does a council boss get to be on a salary of £132k let alone £158k?
That's more than the PM himself gets.
These feckwits can't even sort themselves out into some kind of order yet they claim to be capable of running a country?
No doubt this person was once giving rousing speeches on "fat cat bosses" who live lives of luxury all at the expense of the "working class".
Conscription would be a good idea for these people.
Let them really serve their country. And, if he got back alive, I'd let him keep the money.
The problems with banning all previously elected individuals are at least threefold:
1. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater: many current (or former) elected representatives are/were genuinely good;
2. Overriding democracy and putting this agenda ahead of the electorate's own wishes. That's a form of incoming dictatorship;
3. Losing all former experience and having to start every new electoral period with newcomers who have still to learn the ropes, and who will be relatively ineffective during much (perhaps most) of their term of office.
Take it from someone who has been through it all, and (I believe!) has a very strong reputation for wishing the best for the wider community.
Some of us really did put our hearts and souls (and intelligence) into this business, and to arbitrarily throw us away (as has already happened to me, so I do understand this) because of some diktat is a bad way to go, and would ultimately result in something much worse than we have at present.
Unfortunately John the entire process is now tainted in the eyes of many as politicians both local and national are seen as little more than thieves.
Unless we can get back to a state where the process is seen as a vocation rather than a wealth enhancing career, then I believe that those associated with the system are not worthy of the trust we give them.
Post a Comment