LABOUR group members were accused of "champagne socialism" in a heated debate about an increase in councillor pay.

Cllr John Slater, Tory group leader on Blackburn with Darwen Council, said recommendations put forward by an independent panel had been spun to Labour's advantage.

But deputy leader of the council, Cllr Phil Riley, said he hoped the increase in pay would mean those with less money would not be put off from becoming councillors.

He argued it would help make the council chamber more reflective of the borough as a whole.

The basic allowance, which is paid to each of the 51 councillors, will rise to £7,000 per year.

Under the new terms, leader of the council Cllr Mohammed Khan will be given £20,000 on top of the basic allowance, while deputy leaders Cllr Phil Riley and Cllr Andy Kay will get £12,000.

Each executive member will receive an extra £7,000 as well as the initial £7,000, while assistant executive members will get £3,000 on top.

Opposition leader Cllr John Slater will get the same as executive members, while the borough mayor will receive £19,000 including basic allowance, and the deputy mayor will get a total of £11,000.

The new allowances were approved by members at the council's annual meeting at Blackburn town hall.

Cllr Slater said: "I don't think there is a need for 15 assistant lead members at £3,000 apiece.

"It should be £3,000 per portfolio.

"It's wrong, especially when I am asking my lead members to go to these meetings without any extra remuneration.

"It says in the report you can have as many responsibilities as you like and you're paid for the highest one.

"That's quite right but that's unless you're the deputy leader of the councillor and you get paid for two responsibilities.

"I think it is extremely scandolous - it's champagne socialism at its worst to hijack this and spin it to your advantage."

Cllr Riley said: "There's a democratic point that needs stating and that's about the nature of people who are attracted to become councillors.

"In Victorian times, parliament was mainly made up of the landed gentry and there were concerns about how unrepresentative that was.

"I'm retired and I've got a good pension - I don't need this particular increase but that's not reflective of everyone in the borough and indeed some of my colleagues.

"If you want to make the people in the council chamber representative of the town, the only way to do that is to make sure people are not financially put out by doing it.

"For Cllr Slater to call it champagne socialism - this is an independent panel chaired by a member of his party.

"It's a cheap, throwaway line. In the end, this will mean we can make sure that people who are in work or less fortunate can find it within their financial means to become representatives of the people and that makes for a better chamber."

Leader of the council, Cllr Mohammed Khan, said it was a small increase and the council still offered among the lowest allowances in the north west.

He added: "At the end of the day, this is a report from an independent panel. There has been no suggestion of any kind of dialogue with politicians during the process.

"[Tory group leader] John Slater came to see me and he said he hoped our group would fully support the recommendtion from the remuneration panel.

"When we saw the report, he rang me and said he wasn't happy because it does not give any extra allowance to his shadow executive members or deputy leaders."