Rotherham councillor's call to scrap first class travel

An independent councillor is calling for Rotherham Borough Council to scrap its controversial policy of paying for first-class rail travel for councillors.

Cllr Peter Thirlwall will propose a motion to next week’s full council meeting that the practice — which costs taxpayers thousands of pounds a year — be dropped.

The move is likely to fall flat, as members of the ruling Labour group are not expected to support it, but Cllr Thirlwall said that it was important to make a stand.

And it struck a chord with fellow opposition councillors, prompting Tory group leader Cllr John Gilding to say officers should also be barred from travelling first class.

Cllr Thirlwall said: "How many Advertiser readers can afford to travel first class?”

“More importantly, how many councillors would travel first class if they had to pay for it out of their own pockets.

“Why then should councillors expect taxpayers to pay for something they would not pay for themselves?

"It is time that the councillors started acting responsibly and spent the little money that is available on the people of Rotherham, instead being full of their own importance and pretending that they are different from the rest of us."

Cllr Thirlwall rejected the “excuse” previously given by the council that councillors often  worked on the train while travelling down to London.

He added: “Anyone who knows them well, as I do, knows that is absolute rubbish, and in fact many of the trips that they make are to award ceremonies and there would be no work to do anyway.

"Many of the conferences and seminars attended by councillors are a complete waste of time and money and can only be described as junkets.

“It seems ludicrous, therefore, that councillors should add insult to injury by wasting taxpayers' money travelling first-class on the train.”

Cllr Ben Slade, who is seconding the motion, said: “Everyone should be doing what they can to cut the cost of running the council.

“I don’t see why people should have first-class travel just because they are borough councillors.

“They leave and arrive at the same time — they’re just sitting in a different carriage. It’s a waste of money.”

Cllr Gilding said: “I would have no objection to Cllr Thirlwall’s proposal. In fact, I would suggest that it should be extended to cover officers, too, particularly in these times when it looks like things are going to get rougher.”

Travel for councillors came under the spotlight last November after figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that Cllr Mahroof Hussain, the borough council’s Cabinet member for community cohesion, had clocked up £9,300 in transport costs in two-and-a-half years.

Critics attacked Cllr Hussain for taking first-class train travel costing up to £276 a time and more than £4,500 in total.

Cllr Hussain insisted that the costs were the result of having to travel at busy times and said that he had not booked any tickets himself.

All bookings had been made and paid for directly by the council’s procurement team, he said, strictly adhering to and in accordance with council-approved financial systems and procedures. 

“All my travel arrangements have been officially approved,” he said. “It is not always possible or practical to book seats or train times in advance.

“An important element of travelling first-class is that it allows councillors to work on the train during the journey.

“The council approved first-class travel to London in 2004 as a result of these issues.”

Cllr Thirlwall’s motion will be considered at next Wednesday’s full council meeting.