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'Marmite mayor' with four different jobs earns £104,000 plus expenses
Katharine Barney10.03.09
A leading London Tory at the centre of an expenses row is on a six-figure pay package funded by the taxpayer.
Brian Coleman will become Mayor of Barnet in May after he was nominated by fellow councillors - taking his annual pay for a variety of public roles to £104,503.50.
He is also a London Assembly member and chairman of the capital's fire authority. As a council mayor, he will be able to claim thousands of pounds extra in expenses.
It comes after Mr Coleman was criticised for claiming £2,275 travel expenses for eight months in his role as chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
He also ran up a taxi bill of £8,231 in his position as Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, including a £656 bill on one day.
Nominating Mr Coleman as mayor, Barnet council leader Mike Freer described him as a man "with very robust views" who is "not scared of sharing them".
"I would liken him to being the Marmite Mayor - you either love him or you hate him," he added.
As part of the Barnet mayoralty Mr Coleman will receive more than £16,000, as well as the use of the mayoral car and invitations to dozens of lunch and dinner functions. However he will sacrifice a similar salary as a cabinet member.
Jack Cohen, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats on the council, said: "This just demonstrates how out of hand allowances are.
"I am not against people being paid a decent amount for doing a job, but it is wrong that some are able to claim one, two or three different lots of expenses from their different public roles. It needs to be capped."
Prior to his travel charges to the fire authority, Mr Coleman was questioned about claiming £18,000 over two years in travel from the London Assembly.
From April 2006 to April 2007 he claimed £10,000 in taxi receipts when the Assembly average was just £845.
Mr Coleman has been on the council for 10 years. He was elected to the Assembly in 2000 and appointed fire authority head last summer.
Last year he accused British athletes who went to the Olympics of being "tainted" with blood over China's human rights records. In 2006 he criticised the planned refurbishment of Potters Fields Park near City Hall, saying it should be replaced by a car park.
He said he was "deeply grateful" to Tory councillors for voting him mayor, adding: "Salaries and expenses are fixed by independent committees and frankly they are the rate for the job."
The mayoress will be Mr Coleman's mother Gladys.
Reader views (11)
Politician milks system for all he can get.
Not much of a story there.
- David H, BEDS UK
Oh please - if that's what the expense costs then he should be re-imbursed. If the claim exceeds the cost of the expense then he should be investigated. If he decides to do 4 jobs then great for him - he should be a role model to the lazy.
An BTW just get off the "fat cat" soap boax for a bit and start to think that some people earn a decent salary because they do a tough and worthwhile job. Salary and intergrity are mutually exclusive.
- Jon, london,England
Please if the man's good at what he does, then why not? As people have been saying, 'you gotta pay for talent'.
- Qamal, NY, NY
He is a politician, what do you expect? Their motto do as I tell you, not as I do!
- Hugh, Middx
once more the executives who farm the councils have their own agenda at the expense of the rate payer and feebly protest that they deserve all the perks and remuneration, because were they working in the corporate sector that is what they would be worth.
grand, let them venture forth into the desperate corporate sector for their fat cat bean feasting and allow those willing to serve the public sector for a fair return do the job. they are supposed to be public servants and wish to do the job to service their fellow ratepayers. they are humble spearcarriers, not ceasers.
- M.O'Brien, london.uk
Now this is what I call real sleaze. The man obviously likes to keep busy, otherwise he'd sit at home with nothing to do and still rake in 20K.
- Dhanraj, basildon
The Tories are known to be capitalists - what excuse do all these so-called socialists have ?
- Kathy Doyle, London
If I undestand it correctly, the allowance is to compensate the elected representative for time they may need to take away from their main job.
If each role is 10-12 hours per week, then I personally do not have a problem with people taking on 3, 4 or 5 roles, as long as they are effective in those roles.
and to Huggy - These roles are open to 'ordinary decent indiviuals' - It is known as standing for office - Democracy in action!
- Ian Gilbertson, Newcastle
Nobby's spot-on! Change the system, and get rid of the 'silver-tongued greedy waffle merchants'. -Then make all these jobs and sinecures salaried, and open to ordinary decent individuals, who may not have 'the gift of the gab' -or 'the right credentials' whatever they may be? -but will do an honest day's work for a day's pay!
- Huggy, cumbernauld glasgow
There's a surprise. According to the Tories, it is only Labour MPs and Councillors who have their snouts in the trough.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
Mr. Marmite is only milking the system that has been created by politicians and councillors. If he is sacked, another trought sniffer will be along to replace him.
The system needs changing as well as the money graspers that occupy it.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
