The deputy leader of Westminster Council has caused anger after claiming that a 'basic' first-job salary is in the region of £50,000 to £80,000.
The deputy leader of Westminster Council has caused anger after claiming that a ‘basic’ first-job salary pays in the region of £50,000 to £80,000.
Talking about housing the London, cllr Robert Davis said
“What we really need is affordable housing, not just social housing, for people who are in their first job, have just got a basic, simple job and a salary of £50,000 to £80,000 a year.”
Cllr Davis made the comments during an interview with a PR company that specialises in working with property developers.
In reality, anyone earning over £50,000 would be in the top 10 per cent of earners, and the top 30 per cent in Westminster. The average full-time employee in the UK earns £26,200 according to the latest figures from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, while the average basic graduate salary is between £27,000 – £29,000.
Fellow Westminster councillor David Boothroyd said it showed “the sections of society the council leadership is in touch with”.
“With everyone else, they’re not so much out of touch, as completely cut off,” Mr Boothroyd said.
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
82 Responses to “Tory council leader believes ‘basic salary’ is 80k”
Train Dragon
My first full-time job after graduating from university in 2006 paid a little over £16k. The one after that (maybe 6 months after) was around £19k. I hear the average for graduates in their first job is around £20-21k.
martin brown
That’s because his exalted leader, David Cameron, got his first job on £90,000 a year but that was arranged for him by his mummy in law; but that’s normal, isn’t it??
martin brown
That would mean affordable housing at four times earnings, not much about in London for £72,000 last time I looked. My daughter pays £520 a month for a single room in a shared house.
David_Boothroyd
Given that Cllr Davis’ response when asked about “fifty, eighty thousand” was that it was a slip of the tongue in the middle of a long interview, and not that he had been misheard, then no.
Also there are no schemes within Westminster that would help someone earning as little as £18,000 buy a home, but there are schemes that would help people earning £80,000 (if they were a single earner in a household).
mamaguru
Absolutely priceless. Is this what they all think? No wonder they think the poor are barely human and treat them accordingly.