Town Hall Rich List 2026: record 4,733 council bosses received over £100,000 last year

In the wake of the largest council tax increase since 2004, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has launched its Town Hall Rich List 2026 (THRL), the 20th edition of the project and the only comprehensive list of its kind with a council-by-council breakdown of local government executive pay deals.

The number of council bosses receiving more than £100,000 in 2024-25 stood at 4,733, the highest level since this dataset was first published in 2007 and 827 more than last year’s edition. This is an increase of over 21 per cent on last year, as council wage bills continue to grow. In contrast, the Yorkshire and the Humber region saw the smallest increase in the number of employees receiving over £100,000, rising by 2 per cent from 204 to 209.

The number of staff receiving over £150,000 has also hit a record high of 1,255. This is a 14.9 per cent increase from last year and almost twenty times more than in the first edition of THRL when Tony Blair was prime minister. The THRL reveals there were 320 council employees who received a higher salary than the prime minister was entitled to in 2024-25.

The highest remunerated council employee in 2024-25 was from Staffordshire council, who received around £457,500. The name and job title of this individual were not provided, nor was the breakdown of what this figure encompassed, though they were a council employee and not teaching staff.

Councils have routinely increased council tax by 4.99 per cent each year, the maximum before a local referendum is mandatory in England, often citing stretched budgets and increased demands.

Despite budget shortfalls, councils have been able to consistently find ever-increasing amounts to pay senior staff. Local councils employed more than double the number of senior managers as the NHS did the year before. Six councils that issued Section 114 bankruptcy notices since 2020 had 124 council employees receiving over £100,000.

Some increases in the figures are partially driven by an increase in the number of councils that have published accounts compared to the 2025 edition of this list. In a positive move towards more transparency, the number who failed to publish accounts in time for this year fell from 15 to five.

In 2024-25, there were at least 4,733 council employees receiving £100,000 or more in total remuneration. This is a 21.2 per cent increase from 2023-24, representing 827 more people and compared to 2005-06, there were eight times more people in this category.

Of these, 1,255 council employees had total remuneration of at least £150,000 in 2024-25, which represents a 14.9 per cent increase or 163 more people from 2023-24. Compared to 2005-06, there were almost twenty times more people in this category.

At least 366 local authority employees had total remuneration of at least £200,000 in 2024-25. This is a 39.7 per cent increase from 2023-24, representing 104 people. In 2005-06, there were five people in this category.

The prime minister had a salary entitlement of £172,153 in 2024. 320 council employees received a higher salary than this in 2024-25, as opposed to total remuneration. This is a third more than in 2023-24.

A total of five councils did not provide accounts for 2024-25. This is lower than previous years, with 15 not producing 2023-24 accounts in time for last year’s note, which was significantly down from 59 in 2022-23.

In 2024-25, the highest remunerated council employee was from Staffordshire council, who received £457,500. The name and job title of this individual were not provided, nor was the breakdown of what this figure encompassed.

Six councils have issued section 114 notices since 2020, effectively declaring bankruptcy. There were 124 employees in these councils receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration in 2024-25. Of these, Claire Demmel, interim executive director of place at Thurrock council, had the largest total remuneration in 2024-25, at £283,844.

From 2005-06 to 2024-25, band D council tax has risen by 120 per cent in Wales, 79 per cent in England and 30 per cent in Scotland.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are caught in a pincer movement with a record-breaking tax burden on one side and a bloated public sector feathering its nest on the other.

“Our latest Town Hall Rich List exposes a surging class of council bosses enjoying six-figure packages, even as they plead poverty, slash frontline services, and hike council tax bills far beyond inflation

“Residents can see exactly how many local bureaucrats are receiving plush packages and judge for themselves whether they’re getting value for money.”

Regionally, in the East Midlands, there were 289 council employees who received at least £100,000 in 2024-25, which is 60 more than the previous year, whilst the highest remunerated council employee was Deborah Barnes, chief executive of Lincolnshire Council, with £252,525.

In Erewash, the Chief Executive was shown at £128,275 + £1,239 expenses, but with a pension, the total rises to £156,067, whilst both the Director of Resources and Director of Environmental and and community services showed £96,641, plus the same amount in expenses and with a pension, the total was £117,885.

For the Amber Valley, the figure was a total of £112,500 for an unnamed official in an unspecified role.