Local campaigner and Exmoor farmer James Wright has slammed Somerset’s Liberal Democrat-run council after new figures revealed it had the highest number of highly paid council officials in the South West, including one employee who received a staggering £277,500 last year. Despite the council declaring a financial emergency, increasing council tax by 7.5% and selling off assets.
The figures come from the TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List 2025, based on councils’ published accounts for 2023-24. The annual report reveals a record-breaking 3,906 council staff across the UK received over £100,000, and 1,092 took home more than £150,000 – the highest since records began in 2007.
“While Somerset’s Liberal Democrat council raises council tax yet again, 54 of its staff are taking home six-figure salaries,” said Mr Wright. “One employee walked away with £277,500, more than £100,000 above the Prime Minister’s salary. It’s outrageous. At a time when the council is in financial difficulty and families are struggling with rising bills and local services are under pressure, this council has lost all sense of priorities.”
Somerset tops the South West table for high pay, even as residents in towns and villages from Minehead to Watchet face potholes, delays to care services, and threats to rural bus routes and libraries.
“This is the reality of Liberal Democrat mismanagement,” Wright continued. “They talk about community, but they’ve built a bloated bureaucracy funded by squeezing household budgets. It’s not just wasteful, it’s insulting to the people they’re meant to serve.”
The TaxPayers’ Alliance is calling for urgent reforms to deliver better value for money, including giving councils more flexibility in how they spend grant funding – and a halt to inflation-busting council tax hikes.
