Wiltshire Council leader criticised for appointing wife to £8,927-a-year role

The Conservative leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Richard Clewer, has been accused of being ‘wholly unwise’ after appointing his wife to the role of a portfolio holder, granting her an extra £8,927 a year of taxpayer money. The appointment brings Cllr Zoe Clewer, who is also a Conservative councillor and the wife of Cllr Richard Clewer, a total of £15,869 in basic allowance and £8,927 in special responsibility allowance (SRA), meaning the ‘Clewer Household’ will receive over £100,000 in combined allowances for both councillors in the coming year

Cllr Zoe Clewer has been appointed to the role after serving as a councillor for 2 years and, critics say, has no clear history within her portfolio, which is communications. This has led some councillors to question her new promotion.

Melksham News understands, from leaked messages from a WhatsApp group of Conservative councillors, that the appointment has divided Conservative group members, with one councillor questioning what ‘scrutiny’ there was over the appointment. In response, Cllr Ashley O’Neill said on the WhatsApp group, “I’m disappointed by your questions and think you should withdraw them,” and “I expect cheap attempts from the opposition to score political points but not from our own team.” He finished by saying, “The enemy is sitting opposite us in the chamber, not on our own side.”

Another member of the Conservative group said to Melksham News, “I would urge Richard to reconsider what will probably be a PR nightmare for us after a really strong period. I am not sure that the approach taken by Cllr O’Neill is one that I feel represents the group I am in.”

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Wiltshire Council, Cllr Gordon King, said, “As a councillor and council taxpayer, I am shocked that such a sizeable amount of council allowances is invested in just one place. Additionally, I would say to the leader that taking on an additional cabinet role himself rather than appointing someone else does not represent a saving. Appointing his wife to the executive is wholly unwise in the context of their claim on the taxpayer purse. He should take time to reflect on the quality of both of these decisions and change course.”

The leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Richard Clewer, said, “Whenever appointing any councillor to a role in my administration I am to appoint a person with the right skills for the job and who is not already in another role. I consider Zoe to have the right skills to tackle the issues I think need addressing with council communications and whilst other councillors could also carry out that role, all of those who I feel would be suitable are carrying out other jobs”