LIB DEM county councillors in Surrey have launched a petition calling for the recent increase in allowances for Conservative councillors to be reversed.

The increase was voted through by Tory councillors with four new positions of ‘deputy cabinet member’ created, each at a cost to the taxpayer of £10,000, despite the county council planning millions of pounds of cuts to services over the next year.

The Conservatives also voted to reinstate allowances for vice-chairs of committees, contradicting a report from the Independent Remuneration Panel which concluded that allowances for vice-chairs were not necessary.

Chris Botten, the Lib Dem leader at Kingston’s County Hall, said: “We are calling on Surrey residents to back our campaign for this increase in allowances to be scrapped and the money be used instead to support council services.

“It simply is not right in the current financial climate for the Conservatives to award themselves a pay-rise while at the same time cutting services for residents.

“The county council’s finances are in a parlous state and every penny must be spent wisely, so I call upon the leader of the council to scrap this pay rise immediately.”

Defending the appointment of deputy cabinet members at the council’s annual meeting late last month, Tory leader David Hodge said: “Their role is vital to provide extra capacity to the council as we enter a period of significant change in a way that oversees the development of the council.”

A council spokesman added: “As well as providing extra capacity and skills to make that a success for Surrey’s residents, it ensures deputies will have the necessary experience to continue the cabinet’s work for years to come and the proposed allowance of £10,000 each is £2,500 less than cabinet associates previously received.

“The payment will be reviewed by the council’s independent remuneration panel in the coming months.”

More than £1.7 million was paid to Surrey’s county councillors and political officers last year in allowances and expenses.