by political editor Paul Francis

County councillors have voted through an eight per cent increase in their allowances despite opposition calls for the payments to be frozen.

County council leader Paul Carter dismissed a call from the opposition parties for the new allowances to be rejected and that the decision should be delayed until the public could be given a chance to have a say.

He said the increase proposed by was "modest, sensible and fair" and pointed out that councillors had seen no increase over the previous four years.

"It is below any inflationary index that you want to use so really we are worse off than we were four years ago," he said.

He rejected a Lib Dem call for the decision to be put on hold to allow the public a say."That would be a total waste of time and effort."

But the increases were condemned by the opposition parties. Labour group leader Cllr Les Christie said the public would be outraged.

"We are the best paid councillors in the south east of England. Are we so insensitive, having knocked on people's doors during the election, not to recognise peoples' attitudes to politicians? I do not find it acceptable that the first decision that we take as a new coouncil is to give ourselves an increase of eight per cent," he said.

He said the public would find the move outrageous and added that staff who received a one per cent pay increase this year would find it "odd".

Liberal Democrat opposition leader Trudy Dean said KCC should be prepared to allow the public a say before any increase was voted through.

"If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that members of the public need some involvement in setting our allowances. It has become perfectly clear since the exposure of MPs allowances that there has to be greater exposure and quite rightly so."

The rise in basic allowance means Kent county councillors will be among some of the country’s best-paid local politicians.

In East Sussex, councillors receive a basic allowance of £10,842 while the leader is entitled to £24,087. In Essex, the leader Lord Hanningfield received £39,181 and the basic allowance is £10,550 while in Birmingham, the largest authority in the country, the basic allowance is £15,850.

• So what do you think? Are councillors worth the allowances we pay? Should they be given more? Join in our debate by clicking on the 'make a comment' tab below.

Why are councillors' allowances paid?

Allowances paid to councillors are supposed to reflect the time they give to their council duties, such as attending council meetings and meeting constituents.

However, it is not a salary as all councillors are provided with allowances that reflect that there is a voluntary element to their work.

They are also intended to cover incidental costs, such as when councillors use their home to deal with council business.

In addition to allowances, members are entitled to claim travel expenses; a carers’ allowance and for some subsistence costs.