Councillors' pay bill soars by £1.4million

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The total spent on allowances and expenses last year is estimated at £27,451,483, according to research commissioned by the Evening Standard.

This is a rise of 5.5 per cent on the previous year - more than double the rate of inflation.

The biggest increases in spending on councillors were seen in some of London's most deprived boroughs, including Lewisham (up £204,594), Haringey (up £183,427) and Newham (up £128,677). Conservative-controlled Enfield agreed the biggest rise: up £277,785 - 28 per cent - to £811,156.

Camden, run by a Liberal Democrat and Tory coalition, cut its bill by more than £200,000.

Five of the capital's 33 local authorities - Croydon, Kensington & Chelsea, Newham, Southwark and Wandsworth - spent more than £1 million a year on elected members.

Twenty-three of the 32 boroughs that pay allowances - only the City of London Corporation does not - awarded each member a basic amount in excess of £9,000.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Ever-higher expenses suggest that local authorities are more concerned about feathering their own nests."