County councillors increase their allowances by 8 percent
11/12/2025
The leader felt allowances shouldn’t be a barrier to those who might not be able to afford taking on the role of a councillor
by Esme Kenney, Local Democracy Reporter
Oxfordshire county councillors have voted to increase their basic allowances by eight percent.
The allowance will increase from £14,268 to £15,420 per year, after the council voted in favour of the rise at their meeting on Tuesday.
Changes to councillors’ allowances are decided by an independent panel of local residents, which is required by law.
Leader of Oxfordshire County Council Liz Leffman said: “If you look around this council chamber, we’re not a very diverse group of people.
“One of the things that we want to try and do is make it possible for people from all incomes to become councillors.
“If we want to have a more diverse group of people representing our residents, we need to be mindful of this.”
She added: “It’s not us telling ourselves what we should do, it’s the independent panel making a recommendation.”
Special allowances will also be increased, with the council leader being given £46,260, the deputy leader getting £30,840 and cabinet members getting £24,672.
The proposal to increase allowances passed with 44 voting in favour, 17 abstaining and no-one voting against.
Oxfordshire’s councillor allowances are similar to other councils in the south east, with allowances standing at £14,410 in Surrey, £14,314 in East Sussex, and £16,267 in Kent.
The new allowances will come into effect in April 2026, and will cost the council £130,837.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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