CARLISLE Tory politician John Stevenson has called for councillors’ allowances to be frozen next year as the city council struggles to make ends meet.

   And if they are not, he says he will hand back any increase he is given on the £4,686 basic allowance he received this year as councillor of the Stanwix Urban ward.

   John, who as Carlisle’s Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate is hoping to be the city’s next MP, says politicians – both local and national – should tighten their belts in the same way as families all over Britain are having to do.

   So he is going to suggest to his fellow city councillors that they should forego any increase to their allowances and expenses next year.

   John – one of 24 Carlisle councillors who did not claim any expenses at all last year – says it would be wrong to accept a pay rise at a time of economic crisis.

   “I don’t believe we should accept even a small increase at the same time as we are can preaching economies,” he says. “I certainly won’t be accepting one, and if I get one I will give it back.”

   Councillors’ allowances are set by an independent panel and increase each year in line with council officers’ pay.

   Last year Carlisle’s 52 councillors received more than £349,000 in allowances and expenses. Each of them received a basic allowance of £4,686, while those with special responsibilities, such as members of the executive and committee chairmen, got more.

   Councillors can also claim travel and meal expenses while on official business, though many don’t bother.

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