SOUTHEND councillors are set to get gold-plated pensions reinstated in a national move criticised amid rising financial pressures facing residents.
The policy, unveiled by Communities Secretary Steve Reed at the Labour Party conference, will see more than 16,000 elected officials regain access to the taxpayer-funded Local Government Pension Scheme including the city's 51 councillors.
Mr Reed defended the decision, telling delegates, "You deserve it," but the announcement has triggered backlash, especially as council tax is projected to rise by £9.4 billion over the next four years.
Daniel Cowan, Labour leader of Southend Council, said: "Councillors of all parties sacrifice a huge amount of their lives to supporting and serving their local community, and this will ensure that a diverse range of people can afford to make the decision to become a councillor. We need to consider how this will work for Southend and will be speaking with government to understand the finer details."
Former Southend mayor and Independent councillor Ron Woodley slammed the move, saying: "That's absolutely stupid. We shouldn't be doing it for money, allowances or pensions. You should be doing it because you care about the community. Labour has lost the plot."
James Courtenay, leader of Southend's Conservative Group, said he always felt if councillors are paid an allowance, a pension should be considered to "encourage younger, working-age people".
"But we must look at the overall cost to taxpayers," he added.
"Residents don't want to foot the bill for councillors to receive 25 per cent more."
Southend businessman Phillip Miller, owner of Adventure Island, echoed the sentiment.
He said: "At a time when tax is rising exponentially and belts are being tightened, the timing could not be worse. I hope fair play will prevail in Southend and councillors won't be tempted to fill their boots."
The TaxPayers' Alliance also condemned the policy. Elliot Keck, head of campaigns, told the Echo: "Labour should immediately reverse this decision and look instead at scrapping these unaffordable schemes for council officials."
Councillors in England lost access to the Local Government Pension Scheme from April 1 2014.