If you pay peanuts you get monkeys

I was delighted to read in the Advertiser last week that our council has at last summoned the courage to increase its councillors' allowances to a realistic professional level - as independently recommended.

These allowances have been held down for years, precisely because of the hypocritical cant displayed by the opposition Lib Dems, who will now happily pocket their increase.

Will they have the honesty to refuse their increase or donate it to charity? I think not. While some busybodies would, no doubt, pay to be a councillor, we must attract the very best younger candidate for all parties.

We need quality, rather than quantity and the up-to-date skills of young professionals and mums, not just retired worthies or wealthy wives.

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys, and we have had plenty of these from both parties. I think the independent recommendations were about right.

The new rates will still be below the national average for a unitary councillor, but then our Royal Borough is smaller than average, albeit located in the most expensive part of the UK.

JOHN G STEWART

Woodhurst North

Maidenhead