Despite the recommendations of an independent panel it was clearly wrong of North Herts Conservative Councillors to vote an 11% rise for all Councillors and a near 20% rise for the leader of the Council. Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors voted against the increase.

The Conservatives should reconsider this decision and cancel the increases but the statements from leading Conservative councillors suggest that they intend to brazen it out.

This leaves those Councillors who voted against the rise to decide what to do. It is possible to decline to take the extra money, but since the council has budgeted to spend it on paying Councillors this will not result in it being spent for the benefit of the local community.

I have therefore decided to take the extra money and spend it to support worthwhile causes across the Weston and Sandon ward . The council has recently slashed the money available for grants to community organisations and invented many bureaucratic rules limiting who can receive the grant money that is still available. By spending the additional money that the council pays me in this way, from April I will be able to make an additional £500 available to local organisations in Clothall, Rushden, Sandon, Wallington and Weston without these restrictions.

I will publish details of all payments made here so that local people can see that the money has actually been spent on local good causes.