Westminster Tories have been accused of “outstanding hypocrisy” after approving salary increases for senior councillors that the party had previously branded as "wasted spending" under Labour.
The Conservatives, who now lead the council, had criticised the previous Labour administration for increasing Special Responsibility Allowances for senior members, which rose by 61.2 per cent.
However a General Purposes Committee meeting last Thursday approved several changes to the Members Allowances Scheme, effectively leaving the Labour-backed increased pay levels unchanged. The committee will now recommend the scheme be adopted at Westminster’s next Full Council meeting.
The Labour Opposition Group has called out the “outstanding hypocrisy”, demanding an apology from the Tories over their “entirely baseless” criticism of the allowance rises which Labour introduced while in control of the council.
Councillor Paul Swaddle, who now leads the Conservative-run council, has a documented history of opposing the pay increases during his time in opposition.
When Labour took control of the council in 2022, Cabinet Members were paid a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) of £11,531 on top of a basic allowance. By April 2026, these SRAs had risen to £18,687 – an increase of 62.1 percent.
When factoring in the basic allowance, total rises for council Cabinet Members sit closer to 41 percent. Total remuneration for the Leader of the Council was also increased by around 16 percent under Labour – from £48,930 to £56,960.
Councillor Nafsika Butler-Thalassis, Labour Group Chief Whip, said: “Westminster Conservatives were outraged when the Labour administration raised the allowances for Cabinet Members – former local MP Nickie Aiken even asked a question in Parliament about it.
“This is despite the fact that Cabinet Members’ allowances for Westminster continue to be some of the lowest in London. Of course now that the Conservatives are in power they are not lowering the allowances. The Conservatives’ hypocrisy is astounding, and shows that their criticism of Labour was entirely baseless. They ought to apologise.”
Several changes to the Members Allowance Scheme were approved by the General Purposes Committee. These include introducing an extra Policy and Scrutiny Committee and an additional Planning Sub-Committee. A member was also cut from both the Discretionary Housing Payment Panel and the Ratings Panel.
Cllr Paul Swaddle, Leader of Westminster City Council, said: “Labour set these rates before the election. We’ve raised no one’s pay, and Westminster’s allowances remain among the lowest in London.
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“We won’t be lectured on value for money by a Labour administration that handed senior councillors a 62 per cent rise while wasting tens of millions and lining up council tax hikes for residents. We’re getting on with running the council and fixing the financial mess they left, and as we restore value for money every pound of spending will be examined, allowances included.”