Tory council leader believes ‘basic salary’ is 80k

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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.

82 Responses to “Tory council leader believes ‘basic salary’ is 80k”

  1. Calum Proctor

    I reckon he did misspeak, as he claims. Not that he’s not a jackass, but no significant group of people – including those born with a silver spoon in their mouth – earn that much in their first job. Sure, they will earn it, and they earn it way too quick, but in context £15-18k would have made sense; £50-80k doesn’t.

    Now Boris Johnson, on the other hand, certainly didn’t misspeak when he called his £250k second job writing a column for the Spectator “chickenfeed”…

  2. KYarnell

    According to the urban dictionary a ‘numpty’ is, someone who (sometimes unwittingly) by speech or action demonstrates a lack of knowledge or misconception of a particular situation to the amusement of others. One thing though, this is not funny. These ‘people’ are running the country. Time to wake up.

  3. daysofdissent

    I agree. Don’t know what your speech marks are for though around the world people.

    Oh yeah, I forgot. They’re reptilian shapeshifters.

  4. Alison Piearcey

    Is it a misprint? Did he in fact mean £8k.
    No, wait, he’s a Tory. He probably did mean it.

  5. jacob

    Well that is your fault for not getting a good enough degree, in a subject worth studying and trying to find a decent paying job. You cant blame other people for your failings. This is typical lefty nonsense, always with your hand out asking for alms. Its not the job of hard working people to give you the money they earn, and so what if it was inherited it just shows that somebody in their family at one point tried hard enough to make a lot of money so their descendants could enjoy them self’s and don’t pretend that you would give it away, your jealous of those with more then you with no right to be so.

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