Council staff pay reaches record levels, with Westminster topping ‘rich list’

Westminster council had more employees earning a salary of at least £100,000 last year than any other local authority in the country.

Figures from the Town Hall Rich List, published by campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, shows 73 staff at the west London council received at least £100,000 between 2023 and 2024 – 13 more than the previous year.

Westminster also had the most employees receiving at least £200,000, with eight, followed by Bromley, Wandsworth, City of London, Essex and City of Edinburgh councils with seven.

A Westminster council spokesman said the salaries paid “reflect the skills” needed to lead the “high-profile local authority” and its “unique responsibilities” at the heart of the capital.

He said: “We need to recruit the best talent for managing within a complex organisation whose work involves partnership with central Government, the multi-billion economy of the West End and supporting around a quarter of a million residents.”

Across London’s 33 boroughs the TaxPayers’ Alliance found some 821 employees were paid more than £100,000, with Greenwich council in second place on 62 staff members paid above that.

In contrast, Croydon council reported having zero staff members on more than £100,000, while Richmond-upon-Thames council had just one, and Haringey council employed six.

The Town Hall Rich List for 2025 marks the 18th edition of the TaxPayers’ Alliance research, which was first compiled in 2007.

Across the UK, the figures show the number of council employees receiving more than £100,000 has risen to 3,906 – up 26 per cent from the previous year.

Of these, 1,092 received at least £150,000 which is the largest number of people in receipt of at least £100,000 or £150,000 since 2007.

The campaign group said the rise was “partially driven” by an increase in the number of councils which had published accounts, with only 15 failing to publish their data on time compared with 59 last year.

But John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a record breaking year in many respects for taxpayers as the country hurtles towards a record tax burden, all while the public sector continues to feather its nest.

“As our latest town hall rich list demonstrates, the number of council staff with six-figure remuneration packages has surged at the same time that services are being slashed and council tax is being hiked above inflation. 

“Local residents can look up their own authority in our list and judge the quality of services and their council tax bill against the pay packets of their council bosses.”

Pictured top: Westminster council’s offices in Victoria (Picture: LDRS)