Councillors have refused to award themselves a pay rise.

But a recommended 3.2% increase could still be implemented at a later date.

An independent review had concluded that the borough’s 69 members receive a 3.2% increase in their allowances – the first rise in seven years.

It would see roughly a £400 rise bringing councillors’ basic allowance up to £12,970 per year.

The overall cost of the move would have been about £29,000.

But at a meeting of Kirklees Council’s Corporate Governance and Audit Committee, members could not agree what to do.

A suggestion to completely refuse the rise by Kirkburton Tory, Clr John Taylor, was not supported.

But with huge council cuts currently being implemented, no councillor was willing to vote to accept the rise without conditions.

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After more than an hour of debate the cross party group agreed they would recommend their struggle was noted and that the decision was left to the full council meeting later in the month.

Clr Taylor said it was “completely inappropriate” for councillors to take a rise while simultaneously sanctioning millions of cuts.

“I feel uncomfortable with it,” he said.

“At the moment when everybody else (in the public sector) is getting 1%, I don’t think we should be taking 3.2%.”

But Clr Taylor could not get support from any other councillor, including fellow Tory, Clr Andrew Palfreeman, to completely reject the report.

Green councillor, Robert Barraclough, suggested they accepted but then deferred the pay for a year.

Clr Andrew Palfreeman

Lib Dem, Clr Kath Pinnock, said they should accept but find another way to save money from councillor costs.

But Clr Taylor said the public would say they were just cutting one area to allow themselves a rise.

In the end the seven strong panel was at an impasse and agreed to defer the decision to the full meeting of all councillors.

If the rise is approved there, individual councillors will still be able to refuse it.