Protest planned at council's big payout

East Riding Council's Tory Cabinet last week reaffirmed its controversial decision to use 364,205 of taxpayers' money to top up the pension fund of director of corporate resources Sue Lockwood.

The rally will take place at 2pm on Bank Holiday Monday, May 3 – eight years after 300 demonstrators took to the streets of Beverley to protest against the 36,000 pay rise for Ms Lockwood's husband, the then chief executive Darryl Stephenson.

Mr Stephenson surprised locals by turning up to a public meeting held by Beverley and Holderness Tory MP Graham Stuart last Friday and reading out a Press cutting criticising discredited MPs' pensions.

The Conservative MP has been highly critical of the Tory-led council over the issue.

An attendee said: "Two wrongs don't make a right. The fact that MPs get a ridiculous payout doesn't make it right that Sue Lockwood gets a massive pension top-up."

Rally organiser Andrew Allison, of Hull and East Riding branch of the Taxpayers Alliance, urged people to join in and "send a message to the ruling elite".

"Apart from Coun Grove, Cabinet members have showed how out of touch they are with their constituents," he said. "Everyone knows you can't justify the unjustifiable, and all they want is for this to go away. Well, I have news for them; it won't.

"People are sick and tired of council officers getting pay rises and then retiring with enhanced pensions. Unless we keep the pressure on nothing will change."

Ms Lockwood, who is in her mid-50s and is taking early retirement, was one of a number of senior officers awarded a large pay rise just over a year ago.

Cabinet member Jane Evison declined to comment.p