Cornwall Council: Councillors' Allowances

In 2009 the Liberal Democrats had unsuccessfully attempted to set all allowances for the first four years of Cornwall Council. This had been defeated on the basis that there was no certainty that an independent review might recommend reducing some allowances. At the time this had been mocked by the Liberal Democrats as merely a Conservative ploy to subsequently increase allowances.

However now that today Cornwall Councillors have accepted the independent report’s recommendation to reduce the mileage rate to 40p per mile, bringing it in line with the rate paid to Council staff, the Liberal Democrat attempt to have fixed the rate last year at 50p per mile for four years can be seen as merely an attempt to protect their income.