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# Independent councillor says allowances debate was a “public embarrassment”
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/independent-councillor-says-allowances-debate-was-a-public-embarrassment/
- Published: 2022-07-13T14:08:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-07-13T14:25:46.000Z
- Description: A councillor has branded a debate on increasing allowances as a “public embarrassment”.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:11, News

A councillor has branded a debate on increasing allowances as a “public embarrassment”.

Members of Lichfield District Council [voted against proposals](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/vote-sees-lichfield-and-burntwood-councillors-reject-proposed-hike-in-allowances/) from an independent remuneration panel to push up the payments to all 47 members from £4,298 a year to £4,734.

Cllr Alastair Little, independent representative for Hammerwich with Wall, had previously said he would vote against the increase.

He told *Lichfield Live* that residents would be disappointed to see so much airtime given to the issue in the first place.

> “The council has been left in a state of public embarrassment. The debate was one of the longest one of this council term with the most speakers.  
>  
> “But the council should be there to debate things that matter to the public, not to pontificate about giving ourselves a pay rise.  
>  
> “This debate was senseless and should have been rejected.”  
>  
> Cllr Alastair Little, Lichfield District Council

Calls were made for a named vote on the issue fell on deaf ears after 50% of councillors didn’t back the proposals and Labour opposition group leader Cllr Steve Norman chose not to request one, [despite calls from some of his own benches ](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillors-in-lichfield-and-burntwood-told-they-should-have-had-a-named-vote-on-allowances/)for such a move.

Cllr Little said:

> “Last night I seconded Cllr Colin Ball – a Labour member – for a named vote on the allowance increase.  
>  
> “His group leader blocked the named vote from happening, which shocked me greatly as he has always been an advocate of transparency – a position he must be changing from with less than a year until the election.”  
>  
> Cllr Alastair Little, Lichfield District Council