Horror at top council officials' salaries (reprise)

Letter to West Briton 11/3/2010

Re: Council criticised for money spent on staff after national newspaper reveals the figures’ (West Briton 11/3/10)


I am sure the article in the West Briton 11/3/10 ‘Council criticised for money spent on staff after national newspaper reveals the figures’ grated ever so slightly the emotions of the good people of Cornwall. Sheila Healy (ex CEO of Cornwall County Council ) receiving a pay off of between £400-£500,000 is no less than an utter disgrace. I am sure that Cornwall Council will be quick to reassure us that there was ‘nothing that could be done due to contractual obligations’ etc etc. Still, fortunately, I am sure we were all pleased to hear , Ms Healy did not have to spend her redundancy as she was able to pick another job up in Shropshire, alas did not like it, and has since returned to Cornwall. Let us hope the taxpayers of Shropshire were not similarly relieved of their council tax on her departure, and we will not get skimmed again for her services again.

I trust it was editorial decision to juxtapose this article with news that hard working ‘shop floor’ civil servants are being relieved of their redundancy rights. I for one noted the irony. It was reassuring of course to hear that Tessa Jowell, minister of the former bastion of ordinary folk- the Labour Government- described ripping up these people’s contractual rights as ‘fair’, and previous obligations were not ‘appropriate for a modern civil service’. I trust similar rationale was just not deemed appropriate in regard to Ms Healy’s payoff.

We are then treated later in the paper to a Mr McGahan’s defence of the £200,000 salary of Kevin Lavery,the current chief executive of Cornwall Council. Those of us who previously complained are deemed by Mr McGahan-whom I note is in Financial Planning-as writing ‘drivel’, and our views should be treated with ‘contempt’. I know, ordinary folk cannot be trusted to have an opinion of any validity, and we should keep our heads down and not complain. However, I look forward to Mr McGahan’s defence of the ordinary civil servants actions about their more humble grievances. I guess however I may be waiting a long time.

When are all these people going to get it?

In the last year we have been through the public’s outrage regarding MP’s and bankers misappropriation of our money. More quietly, but still seething, we are all outraged at the salaries of chief executives in the public and private sector, as well as the monies paid to sport ‘personalities’ and the obscenity of payments to so called ‘celebrities’ such as Cheryl Cole. Yet after the outrage, nothing really changes. We continue to experience ourselves getting ripped off by the ‘deserving rich’ while the rest of us have to subsist on barely the minimum wage, unable to afford a house in our local communities, and constantly being threatened with redundancy due to ‘modernisation’, ‘outsourcing’ etc. Of course these ‘improvements’ are implemented by the said same above chief executives, on their large salaries, who not doubt receive a bonus for putting us out of work.

No doubt I will be accused of ‘the politics of envy’ which is the fashionable phrase to describe those of us who will speak out against these obscenities on behalf of the majority. However we really do need to take action against those in their ivory towers, who seem keen to protect their own status and salaries, but are only too prepared to do so at the expense of the rest of us. It is time to act, but the major political parties will do nothing once in power apart from their pledges, varying in degrees of urgency, to cut public expenditure, and therefore the public services used by you and me.

I am afraid Mr Lavery, Ms Healy, et al. are absolutely nothing special. Many of us will do their jobs for a tenth of what they are paid, and I am sure even without the army of consultants, advisors etc. they are all provided with, we would do equally as good a job. So here’s is a challenge: give me a couple of weeks in Mr Lavery’s job; and I will report back on the dark secrets of his trade.

The Green Party is the only major party that promises, if we are elected, to challenge big pay outs to these people. We would develop a truly fairer progressive tax system introducing a 50% tax rate for those on £100,000 a year. This would raise £2.3 bn a year, and do a lot to decrease the wide discrepancies in pay that exist in this country. We will also introduce an increased ‘Citizens Pension’ for the elderly . We will ensure the majority rather than the few are considered ‘worth it’ for the hard work they put in for building this society. Yes, some of those in their Ivory Towers may ‘up sticks’ and go to Switzerland and the United States where the obscenity of large salaries may continue. However when those societies realise nothing terrible happens here as a result of this policy change, they will soon catch on they have been taken for a ride too.

I may be writing ‘drivel,’ as far as Mr McGahan is concerned, but I am sure the reinvestment of these obscene salaries into basic public services for ordinary people will go down well with the people of Cornwall and the rest of this country.


Ian Wright
Green Party Candidate for Truro and Falmouth
01872 501374
Trevarrick,Portloe, Truro. TR2 5RE
Wrightian298@aol.com
www.cornishgreenparty.org.ukto
www.greenparty.org.uk
www.ianwrightgreentrurofalmouth.blogspot.com