The boss of Britain’s ‘wokest’ council where staff were encouraged to take a ‘white privilege test’ took home a £271,430 pay package last year, research has revealed.
The monster pay package for Stuart Love, Chief Executive of the City of Westminster council, was mostly made up of his £232,389 salary, making him the fifteenth highest paid council fat cat by salary in 2024. That’s £60,236 more than Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s salary.
It comes after whistleblowers revealed Mr Love’s council told its staff to undergo a privilege test as part of its effort to boost the number of ethnic minorities it employs.
Staff spoke of an online quiz with questions like ‘did your parents read to you as a child’ and ‘do you think twice about calling the police’, the answers to which gave you a ‘privilege score’.
The privilege test did not include any questions on how much money you make, which will come as a positive to any of Westminster’s privilege-conscious staff, 73 of which received more than £100,000 last year, the most of any council.
Eight of Labour-run Westminster’s employees earn over £200,000 a year which is also a record.
The 73 staff who took home six figures cost taxpayers £9.8million in salary, pension payments, compensation and other perks last year alone.
As Westminster staff salaries ballooned over the last few years, the council also underwent a diversity drive, boosting the recruitment of ‘global majority’ candidates by giving them preferential treatment over white candidates.
To do this the council rolled out mandatory unconscious bias training and a requirement to shortlist at least one ethnic majority when hiring.
The aim was to make their staff 45 per cent ethnic minority to reflect the local population of Westminster.
Anyone who didn’t shortlist an ethnic minority for an opening had to explain their decision to Chief Executive Mr Love, documents leaked to the Telegraph revealed.
Speaking last year, Mr Love said: “We should all be woke, but particularly in local government where we are delivering services to communities.
“When things have gone wrong here, I’ve heard people say it’s because I’m too ‘woke’ or I’m focusing on the ‘woke agenda’.
“But all this has done is double down on my efforts. I lean into this term because it’s been hijacked and weaponised. I am quite happy to be accused of being socially aware of injustice.”
Neil O’Brien, a Tory MP and former minister, said the whistleblower had exposed “racist hiring policies on an industrial scale”.
“If all this is not breaking the law, it certainly should be. It shows how far the public sector has drifted from the idea of meritocracy,” said Mr O’Brien.
It comes after Westminster City Council raised council tax by 4.99 per cent, the legal limit without having to hold a referendum.
On the subject of employee pay, a Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “Westminster City Council is a high-profile local authority with unique responsibilities at the heart of the capital.
“As such, we need to recruit the best talent for managing within a complex organisation whose work involves partnership with central Government, the multi-billion economy of the West End and supporting around a quarter of a million residents.
“The salaries paid reflect the skills needed to lead the authority.”
On the privilege test and diversity drive, the spokesperson said: “Westminster City Council's recruitment policies are industry standard, entirely consistent with UK employment law and have been in place for a number of years.
“In keeping with many public sector and private companies, we are committed to ensuring all candidates can compete for a range of roles and we actively promote ourselves as an inclusive employer.
“This PowerPoint presentation, which we believe was available on the council’s staff intranet from 2021, does not form any part of our formal policy, training or recruitment process.”
Westminster City Council, which includes Keir Starmer amongst its council taxpayers, has the second lowest council tax rate in Britain after Wandsworth.
Westminster Council is also a UK leader on housing and children’s services, though it has been criticised for harming pubs and clubs with ‘quiet night’ initiatives.
LATEST FROM MEMBERSHIP:
Westminster is not alone in hiking council tax while paying out eyewatering salaries to council fat cats.
Nien in ten authorities are hiking council tax by 4.99 per cent, citing soaring care costs and sever financial pressure.
Several councils applied to the government to raise council tax by more than 4.99 per cent without a referendum.
Angela Rayner, as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, allowed six councils to do so.
They are Bradford (10%), Newham (9%), Windsor and Maidenhead (9%), Birmingham (7.5%), Somerset (7.5%) and Trafford (7.5%).
Council tax increases are just one of many bills rising that kicked off ‘awful April’. Other charges going up include road tax, stamp duty, employers’ national insurance contributions, water, electricity and energy.
Elections were last held for Westminster Council in 2022 when Labour won 31 of 54 seats, giving them a majority.
The Tories won 23 seats, a loss of 18 seats, losing control of the council for the first time since it was formed in 1965.
Find Out More...
The monster pay package for Stuart Love, Chief Executive of the City of Westminster council, was mostly made up of his £232,389 salary, making him the fifteenth highest paid council fat cat by salary in 2024. That’s £60,236 more than Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s salary.
It comes after whistleblowers revealed Mr Love’s council told its staff to undergo a privilege test as part of its effort to boost the number of ethnic minorities it employs.
Staff spoke of an online quiz with questions like ‘did your parents read to you as a child’ and ‘do you think twice about calling the police’, the answers to which gave you a ‘privilege score’.
The privilege test did not include any questions on how much money you make, which will come as a positive to any of Westminster’s privilege-conscious staff, 73 of which received more than £100,000 last year, the most of any council.
Eight of Labour-run Westminster’s employees earn over £200,000 a year which is also a record.
The 73 staff who took home six figures cost taxpayers £9.8million in salary, pension payments, compensation and other perks last year alone.
Westminster top ten fat cats
As Westminster staff salaries ballooned over the last few years, the council also underwent a diversity drive, boosting the recruitment of ‘global majority’ candidates by giving them preferential treatment over white candidates.
To do this the council rolled out mandatory unconscious bias training and a requirement to shortlist at least one ethnic majority when hiring.
The aim was to make their staff 45 per cent ethnic minority to reflect the local population of Westminster.
Anyone who didn’t shortlist an ethnic minority for an opening had to explain their decision to Chief Executive Mr Love, documents leaked to the Telegraph revealed.
Speaking last year, Mr Love said: “We should all be woke, but particularly in local government where we are delivering services to communities.
“When things have gone wrong here, I’ve heard people say it’s because I’m too ‘woke’ or I’m focusing on the ‘woke agenda’.
“But all this has done is double down on my efforts. I lean into this term because it’s been hijacked and weaponised. I am quite happy to be accused of being socially aware of injustice.”
Neil O’Brien, a Tory MP and former minister, said the whistleblower had exposed “racist hiring policies on an industrial scale”.
“If all this is not breaking the law, it certainly should be. It shows how far the public sector has drifted from the idea of meritocracy,” said Mr O’Brien.
It comes after Westminster City Council raised council tax by 4.99 per cent, the legal limit without having to hold a referendum.
London council tax rises 2025/26
On the subject of employee pay, a Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “Westminster City Council is a high-profile local authority with unique responsibilities at the heart of the capital.
“As such, we need to recruit the best talent for managing within a complex organisation whose work involves partnership with central Government, the multi-billion economy of the West End and supporting around a quarter of a million residents.
“The salaries paid reflect the skills needed to lead the authority.”
On the privilege test and diversity drive, the spokesperson said: “Westminster City Council's recruitment policies are industry standard, entirely consistent with UK employment law and have been in place for a number of years.
“In keeping with many public sector and private companies, we are committed to ensuring all candidates can compete for a range of roles and we actively promote ourselves as an inclusive employer.
“This PowerPoint presentation, which we believe was available on the council’s staff intranet from 2021, does not form any part of our formal policy, training or recruitment process.”
Westminster City Council, which includes Keir Starmer amongst its council taxpayers, has the second lowest council tax rate in Britain after Wandsworth.
Westminster Council is also a UK leader on housing and children’s services, though it has been criticised for harming pubs and clubs with ‘quiet night’ initiatives.
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Westminster is not alone in hiking council tax while paying out eyewatering salaries to council fat cats.
Nien in ten authorities are hiking council tax by 4.99 per cent, citing soaring care costs and sever financial pressure.
Several councils applied to the government to raise council tax by more than 4.99 per cent without a referendum.
Angela Rayner, as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, allowed six councils to do so.
They are Bradford (10%), Newham (9%), Windsor and Maidenhead (9%), Birmingham (7.5%), Somerset (7.5%) and Trafford (7.5%).
Council tax increases are just one of many bills rising that kicked off ‘awful April’. Other charges going up include road tax, stamp duty, employers’ national insurance contributions, water, electricity and energy.
Elections were last held for Westminster Council in 2022 when Labour won 31 of 54 seats, giving them a majority.
The Tories won 23 seats, a loss of 18 seats, losing control of the council for the first time since it was formed in 1965.
Find Out More...