LABOUR councillors in Erewash have hit out at a council timetable for discussing allowance cuts later this year.

Members of Erewash Borough Council are likely to reduce their allowances by five per cent.

But the move will be first discussed by an independent panel.

It was mooted by Conservative council leader Chris Corbett, when the issue was raised at a meeting, with Labour councillors pushing for a three-year freeze on the basic allowance. They also want a 20 per cent cut on cash paid to leading councillors.

But Labour councillors said delaying the decision on cutting councillors' allowances was a "cop-out".

A spokesman for the Erewash Labour Group said: "Whilst the Independent Remuneration Panel is independent from the council, it has few legal powers and can only make recommendations which will have to voted and approved by councillors."

And Labour councillor Alex Phillips, who proposed the cuts, said: "We saw politics at its very worst.

"Erewash's councillors had the opportunity to lead by example and be one of the first authorities in the country to cut councillors' expense.

"Instead, the Conservatives went out of their way to delay and bury any decision.

"The public deserve better than this."