COUNCILLORS have voted themselves a "pay" increase of nearly 50 per cent.

But they have deferred taking the rises, proposed by an independent remuneration panel, until next April.

The panel said councillors should be properly recompensed for their work, and hoped the improved allowances would encourage more people to stand for election.

All 48 Bury councillors will now receive a basic allowance of £6,630 a year. The leader of the council will get a further £21,000 in special responsibility allowance, and his deputy an extra £12,600.

Six Labour executive members will receive additional payments of £8,400. The Tory group leader gets an extra £6,930, and the Lib Dem leader £3,465. Chairmen of scrutiny panels, area boards and other committees will receive responsibility allowances of £5,250.

Members will also receive telephone costs, travel expenses and can claim up to £1,200 a year in child care costs. The total cost of councillors' allowances will be around £180,000.

However, the Liberal Democrats voted against the rises at Tuesday's (July 16) council meeting, saying they were inappropriate, both in their timing and size.

"We are the smallest council in the area, therefore any increases should have been pitched at the lower end," said Lib Dem leader Coun Wilf Davison.

"Also, council tax went up this year by 6.5 per cent. Council workers are claiming six per cent, while their employers have offered three per cent. We felt that to award councillors very significant increases was out of line. We would have preferred to see an increase of six per cent."

The Tories abstained, after it was proposed that the rises be deferred.

Coun David Higgin, group leader, said to take the rises now would have been "obscene", the day before council staff went on strike over a three per cent pay offer and primary schools had been closed.

He added: "I think it's essential that 50 per cent of councillors are in paid employment. But you have to recompense them: people have to take time off work, and don't necessarily get paid for that."

Labour leader John Byrne said members were in a "no win" situation.

"Once employers were honoured to have a councillor on their books, now they frown on it," he said. "They won't let you have time off, or it harms your chances of promotion.

"Most councillors were relatively happy as they were, but the panel has made its honest recommendation, its assessment of what is fair for Bury. What do we do? Tell them to stick it? People won't be dancing in the street about it, but councillors' pay is not a regular topic of conversation."