Rebel councillors call for mass public support in defeating Wiltshire Tory leader Jane Scott

A plea has been issued by Wiltshire’s rebel Independent Councillors Terry Chivers and Jeff Osborn for public support for their bid next week to overturn the Tory-controlled council’s decision to give a massive boost to the personal allowances councillors receive.

Their motion, backed so far by a total of 10 non-Conservative councillors, is to be debated at 10 am next Tuesday (February 4) at the council’s headquarters in Trowbridge.

And they want a show of strength from Wiltshire’s council taxpayers to pack the public gallery in backing their demand to scrap allowances of up to 37 per cent for council leader Jane Scott and her Cabinet members, which they voted for themselves last November.

Mrs Scott has already rejected the overtures of Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary of State, to deny herself a new allowances total of £52,000 a year, back-dated to last May.

She insists that the wrong level of allowances was set when the Wiltshire unitary authority was established almost five years ago and that the allowances need to be increased despite the government’s austerity measures and cuts in local government spending.

“We are asking the residents of Wiltshire to send a clear message to Jane Scott, and the ruling Conservatives by turning up en  mass at the Special Council meeting  on February 4,”  Councillor Chivers told Marlborough News Online.

“The Conservatives are on the run.  Cracks are starting to appear in the Conservative group.  Talking in private to some Conservative councillors, it is very clear that some of them are very unhappy at the greed of Councillor Scott and her Cabinet magic circle.

“We need the public to turn out en mass on next week to show Jane Scott that she has to listen to the residents of Wiltshire. After all, it’s them that elected her and the cabinet.”

And Jeff Osborn added:  “Let’s show Jane Scott, that she must listen to the residents of Wiltshire.  We can reverse this decision but we need the support of the residents of Wiltshire to turn up on February 4 at 10.00am.

“Even if we are defeated on  this issue, it will not go away.  We will campaign against these increases until the next council election when the public will be able to send their own clear message to Jane Scott by giving her a red card when it is their turn to vote.”