New Scarborough Mayor Defends Budget Increase

Scarborough Town Council has faced scrutiny for increasing its mayor’s allowance by 600 per cent despite a ‘cautious’ spending commitment.

A £3,500 allowance will be given to Scarborough Town Council’s (STC) Reform UK mayor, Thomas Murray, after the authority’s annual budget was approved at a meeting on Wednesday.

Members of the Reform-run council defended the increase on the grounds that the mayor should not be left “out of pocket” for the unpaid role, which they said involved an increase in duties, and added that savings had already been made in other areas.

Before the town council was created on April 1, a group of charter trustees – councillors who represented the town’s unparished areas on North Yorkshire Council – were responsible for maintaining civic traditions.

Speaking at the town council’s full meeting, Independent opposition councillor Rich Maw expressed “serious concerns” over the allocation.

He said:

 "I'd like to raise a question regarding the £3,500 allowance proposed in the town council's budget forecast for the role of chair. As a member of this council and from the position of opposition, I want to express serious concerns over this allocation. To be clear, parish councils across the county are typically unpaid, including the role of chair under the former charter trustees.

"The mayor receive £500 and the deputy mayor. Which was considered sufficient for fulfilling civic duties. Therefore, I just respect I respectfully asked them the following, what is the justification for increase in the allowance to £3,500?"

The town mayor and chair of STC, Coun Thomas Murray, responded:

" This was based off how many engagements I may attend in the given year and that, I've had quite a few engagements since be becoming the mayor and how much that has cost me in that period, and then extended over the year. The allowance to set at £3,500, because I'm aware this is public money.

"However, the estimate that I came up with was a lot more than that. That would cost me personally to be the mayor. This is an unpaid role and this money is solely for me to exercise my duties as mayor efficiently."

He added, addressing Councillor Maw:

"So when we, when I proposed this we did look at other councils. Scarborough Town Council has received a considerable amount of invites. If this, if we get less invites next year, then the allowance would get reduced, if that helps you."

Coun William Stuart, a member of the leading Reform group, said that through “careful negotiation”, the authority had already saved £5,000 in money that was allocated in relation to the mayor’s chains and civic regalia:

 "The £3,500 that you mentioned Councillor Maw is hopefully more than what we'll need to spend in that particular area. We are very aware of budget costs. Councillor Maw isn't paid for his role. There are expenses with it and we didn't feel that he should be out of pocket. The point really is that we do want to support the role of mayor for this town."

"And I take the points that you're making that £3,500, if you were to put it on the council tax bill, would be the equivalent of 25 pence a year council tax. The equivalent of two pence a month. And I, having said that, I would like to reduce it to one per month if you could possibly do that and even less next year.

"But you are right. We need to account for every single penny."

The overall budget for Scarborough Town Council’s first year up to March 2026, including staff salaries, was set at £385,750.