By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2025-04-05 05:50:25 | Updated at 2025-04-05 16:14:01
11 hours ago
As council tax bills rise for the vast majority of Brits, the 50 highest earning council employees have been revealed in a shocking map.
Research by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found 3,906 council employees in the UK received more than £100,000 in remuneration last year (salary, bonuses, compensation and pension payments).
This is 801 (26 per cent) more than 2022-23's figure, meaning councillors have been awarding themselves large pay increases whilst also raising council tax for millions of cash-strapped Brits.
GB News has mapped the top 50 council fat cats who received the highest remuneration last year. (Where councils had two or more employees in the top fifty, only the highest earner has been included).
EXPLORE: Does your authority employ one of Britain's highest paid council fat cats?
Top 50 council fat cats
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Total pay
Annemarie O’Donnell, Glasgow City’s Chief Executive, raked in the most taxpayer money last year to the tune of £567,317, which was made up of her salary of £209,472 and £357,845 in pension payments, also a record.
In second was Castle Point council’s Chris Mills (£565,000) and in third was the executive director health and adult social care in Brighton and Hove council whose name was not provided (£456,821).
The findings are likely to infuriate taxpayers in each area. Glasgow City Council recently hiked council tax by 7.5 per cent for its residents, bringing Band D properties bills to £1611 for 2025/26.
Castle Point and Brighton and Hove also hiked bills by 4.99 per cent for 2025/26.
Top ten council fat cats - remuneration
Top ten council fat cats - remuneration
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Salaries
In terms of salaries only, Wandsworth Council’s Chief Executive Mike Jackson earnt the most with an eyewatering £281,443 pocketed last year.
In second was an undisclosed name from Somerset earning £277,500, and in third came Bromley council’s Chief Executive Abe Adetosoye who earnt £256,995.
Wandsworth residents are also being hit with a council tax hike, one of the smaller rises of 2 per cent, while Bromley taxpayers face a 4.99 per cent rise.
In Somerset, the council is hiking tax by a hefty 7.5 per cent, a move they needed special permission from Angela Rayner to do without holding a referendum.
It means an increased bill of £129 for the people of Somerset.
Top ten council fat cats - salaries
Top ten council fat cats - salaries
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Pensions
Another huge drain on council’s finances is pension payments for council staff with up to £1 in £4 being spent this way.
After Glasgow’s Annemarie O’Donnell, Westmorland and Furness’ interim director of children's services John Readman took home the largest pension pot of £270,165.
In third place for pension payments was Glasgow City’s Director of legal and administration Elaine Galletly who took home £223,065 in pension payments.
Top ten council fat cats - pensions
Top ten council fat cats - pensions
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Compensation
Councillors are also awarded enormous payouts for losing their office. Chris Mills, Castle Point council’s ex-Stategic Director, was the largest beneficiary in this regard, trousering a jaw-dropping £469,000 in compensation.
In second was Brighton and Hove’s ex-executive director health and adult social care (name undisclosed) who received £307,392, followed by another from Castle Point- Andrew Smith- former strategic director (corporate services) who was paid out £236,000.
Top ten council fat cats - compensation
Top ten council fat cats - compensation
GBN
The Taxpayers’ Alliance staggering research also found 1,092 council employees received at least £150,000 in total remuneration last year.
238 council employees earned more than Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s salary of £172,153.
In 2023-24, the local authority with the most employees receiving at least £100,000 in total remuneration was Westminster with 73 staff, 13 more than the previous year.
Westminster also had the most employees receiving at least £200,000 in total remuneration with eight.
Bromley, City of Edinburgh, City of London, Essex and Wandsworth all had seven employees receiving at least £200,000 in total remuneration.
Burnley was the only council which had no employees receiving over £100,000 in 2023-24.
The news of such enormous sums of taxpayer money being spent on council staff salaries and pensions has enraged council taxpayers across the country after nine in ten authorities hiked council tax, mostly by the legal limit of 4.99 per cent.
238 council employees earned more than Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s salary of £172,153 last year
PA
Defending the decision, councils argue they are struggling with the soaring cost of providing care and hiring staff.
Several councils applied to the government to raise council tax by more than 4.99 per cent without a referendum.
Angela Rayner, as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, allowed six councils to do so.
They are Bradford (10%), Newham (9%), Windsor and Maidenhead (9%), Birmingham (7.5%), Somerset (7.5%) and Trafford (7.5%).
Council tax increases are just one of many bills rising today that kick off ‘awful April’. Other charges going up today include road tax, stamp duty, employers’ national insurance contributions, water, electricity and energy.
Council tax increases are a particular sore point in areas where local elections have been cancelled as Labour looks to shakeup local government.
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Councils cancelling elections and hiking tax
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It comes after Keir Starmer pledged to freeze council tax if his party won the election in a speech launching Labour’s local election campaign in March 2023.
John O’Connell, the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a record-breaking year in many respects for taxpayers as the country hurtles towards a record tax burden, all while the public sector continues to feather its nest.
“As our latest town hall rich list demonstrates, the number of council staff with six-figure remuneration packages has surged at the same time that services are being slashed and council tax is being hiked above inflation.
“Local residents can look up their own authority in our list and judge the quality of services and their council tax bill against the pay packets of their council bosses.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: “Our councils are fundamentally broken and are no longer able to deliver for local people. Reform will send in the auditors, get rid of the fraudulent contracts and cut wasteful spending.
“We won’t rely on empty promises and rhetoric like the Tories and Labour, who have come before us.”
