Canterbury City Council’s new Labour - Lib Dem coalition has been accused of “increasing the cost to the taxpayer” after expanding its cabinet.

The parties announced the number of posts has extended by 50% - from six to nine - days after taking office.

It comes after Canterbury’s Conservative city council was turfed out at the polls on May 5, making it the third largest party.

The coalition’s restructure is expected to cost the public purse £15,000 more per year, drawing criticism from the Conservatives.

Cllr Dan Watkins (Con) slated the move on social media, later telling the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “They’ve just decided to grow the bureaucracy as it were, and that costs more money; is that truly a priority in the middle of a cost of living crisis?”

He also claimed Labour did not mention an expanded cabinet in its manifesto.

The Greenhill representative argued “the truth of it is if you have more people on the payroll then those people always vote with the leadership, and therefore that makes it a bit easier to get your votes through.”

New cabinet roles have been created for climate change and biodiversity, and coastal towns, occupied by Cllr Mel Dawkins (Lab) and Cllr Chris Cornell (Lab) respectively.

Under the previous Conservative administration there were “lead members” for these issues.

They took responsibility for and made decisions on related matters, but were outside the cabinet.

Cllr Watkins continued: “It kept the main cabinet smaller and more efficient, making decisions more quickly – but the other thing is that we didn’t get paid, so it kept the costs on the bureaucracy of running the council down.”

“You should be using every single pound you’ve got as Canterbury City Council at the moment to support vulnerable people, whether it be in council housing or with various grants we give out to the community, not on how we run ourselves.

“They’re now making a change and it looks like they are increasing the cost to the taxpayer and residents.”

He continued: “I’m not against cabinet members being paid, they do a demanding job and they work hard, I’m just asking if we need so many of those people.”

However, new council leader Alan Baldock (Lab) defended the expansion of paid posts.

“With oversight comes responsibility and with a slightly increased number of council members we’re able to bring in more knowledge, more experience to properly look at our decisions in cabinet, but also to take responsibility for delivering those decisions as well,” he said.

“Those cabinet members will be forward facing, engaged with the public and answerable to the public.

“We believe that the benefits will justify the additional cost which we will find from the budget, and that will be without cuts to public services.”

The Northgate councillor also argued the larger cabinet will bring “the opportunity for much more discussion, much more oversight, a wider section of our community represented, and we believe it’s the right way to go forward in delivering the change this district desperately deserves.”

All councillors are given a basic allowance of around £6,000, they can also claim expenses for “travel and subsistence”.

Those with cabinet or committee chair positions also receive a “special responsibility allowance” of around £5,000, which may soon increase due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The new, nine-member cabinet for Canterbury City Council is:

Alan Baldock (Northgate, Labour) - Leader of the council

Michael Dixey (Westgate, Lib Dem) - Deputy leader of the council and portfolio holder for property, performance and oversight

Jean Butcher (Northgate, Labour) - Lord Mayor

Tom Mellish (Heron, Labour) - Sheriff

Mike Sole (Nailbourne, Lib Dem) - Cabinet member for finance

Pip Hazelton (Westgate, Labour) - Cabinet member for housing

Charlotte Cornell (Seasalter, Labour) - Cabinet member for heritage, open spaces, waste and recycling

Alex Ricketts (Blean Forest, Lib Dem) - Cabinet member for tourism, movement and rural development

Connie Nolan (Barton, Labour) - Cabinet member for community, culture, safety and engagement

Chris Cornell (Gorrell, Labour) - Cabinet member for coastal towns

Mel Dawkins (St. Stephens, Labour) - Cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity