21/05/2026
Let’s see how Hartlepool Council gets on tonight…
In a move straight out of Labour's playbook, Sunderland's new Reform council have decided to reintroduce deputy roles, which means that more councillors than ever will benefit from significant ‘extra responsibility allowances’.
Abolishing this role saved the taxpayer £12,556 per deputy. They have also introduced 2 more cabinet portfolio holders at £20,716 each meaning that overall Reform have just claimed their councillors an extra £129,324 of allowances.
We would like some transparency from the Sunderland Reform Council as to where this extra money will come from, and how these roles will benefit the taxpayers who fund them.
In a 2024 article from the Sunderland Echo, Cllr Edgeworth (Lib Dem, Grindon & Thorney Close) is quoted saying “We know that deputy cabinet members are total non-jobs that have been used as an excuse to dish out special responsibility allowances to Labour councillors and to use taxpayers money to buy loyalty for leaders of the Labour Group.”
Labour, and now following in their footsteps, Reform, are the only two parties to have supported the existence of the deputy role in Sunderland City Council.
We hope that a statement can be made by Reform soon outlining their justification for reintroducing these extra roles, and a reasonable breakdown of their projected value vs the cost to the taxpayer.
