J McKenzie’s letter (‘Pay rises are unbelievable’, Your Views, July 15) echoes the public incredulity at the decision by Barnet Tory councillors to give themselves colossal pay rises.
The Tory local government minister Grant Shapps said the pay hikes were not justifiable when public sector workers faced a two-year pay freeze.
Added to this, the insensitive removal of Kate Salinger — the sole Tory councillor to follow her conscience in abstaining from the vote — from all her posts on council committees, compounds a sad and arrogant miscalculation by the Conservative majority.
There is only one honourable way of redeeming our faith in sound local government.
This is immediately to reverse the decision and instead to impose on all councillors the same two-year pay freeze as is being made on public sector workers.
This simple, equitable and sensible action will begin to restore our faith in the councillors who, as Cllr Lynne Hillan rightly says, try to serve the public to the best of their ability.
Keith Martin, Friern Park, Barnet
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