Babergh deputy political leaders were denied a pay increase of more than £8,000 following a backlash at a full council meeting last night.

Councillors discussed the increase during yesterday's Babergh council meeting following a recommendation from the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).

Having a deputy political leader is a statutory requirement and includes a Special Responsibility Allowance of £8,137 which is collected via council tax.

However, following the May local elections, two deputies were appointed to reflect the political proportions of each group within the coalition.

Dave Busby, Deborah Saw, John Ward (Picture: Babergh)

Cllr Michael Holt, the Conservative representing Chadacre ward, said the council "would be no different" with just one deputy leader and the decision was "totally wrong".

He added: "The only reason we have two deputies is a political one.

"To create the role twice and expect us and the residents to pay more for it is totally out of order.

"I don't understand your political thinking to try and generate a role that incurs more costs when people are really short on money."

The IRP reached its conclusion following research of other councils which have adopted more than one deputy leader, including Cumberland, Thameside, and Oldham.

But some councillors argued it is unfair to compare much larger councils with Babergh.

Cllr John Ward, one of the deputy leaders, defended the recommendations, saying the remuneration was "not that high" and the backlash was "party politics".

John Ward stand in leader (Picture: Babergh)

He added: "Our current remuneration is low in relation to the workload and the proposal would have been the equivalent to about seven pence per annum for an average Band D council tax.

"In my opinion, this is a reasonable and proportionate allocation of remuneration."

Cllr Holt acknowledged the reasoning but countered: "I think you [Cllr Ward] have been disrespectful to previous cabinets because they equally worked just as hard.

"You can't just point to a situation you've helped create and say you've got more work, sorry, it doesn't cut it."

This feeling was shared across party lines, with members from both Labour and coalition parties expressing their disagreement.

After six abstentions and 11 votes against, the recommendation was shut down.