'We don't do woke' - war of words between Dudley Council leader and former MP over £135,000-a-year diversity posts

Marco Longhi, who was Conservative MP for Dudley North before losing the seat at last year's General Election, has criticised Conservative-run Dudley Council for the roles at a time of severe cutbacks to its budget. Mr Longhi, who has since defected to Reform UK, said the authority was paying one person up to £92,000 a year for the job of 'assistant director of people and inclusion', and another up to £51,500 as an 'equality, diversity and inclusion manager'

But Dudley Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley said the assistant director's salary was actually £83,000 a year, and covered a wide range of responsibilities, including recruitment, employment structures and negotiations with trade unions, while the 'equality, diversity and inclusion manager' post was vacant and unlikely to be replaced.

Mr Longhi said the two posts were 'the tip of the iceberg', and that few people would even know what their titles meant.

"That’s over £140,000 a year on just these two roles focused on 'inclusion', he said. "And I'll bet that when you take the pensions and other cost into account, it is nearer to £200,000.

"if you haven't got equality and inclusion in your organisation to begin with, what are you doing? You shouldn't be there. The chief executive of the council should be the main person for that.

"While bins are being missed, roads are full of potholes, and public services are stretched, this kind of spending raises serious questions."

But Councillor Harley accused Mr Longhi of making mischief, and insisted he 'doesn't do woke'.

"Mr Longhi seems to be a very frustrated former MP," he said. 

"He knows full well from my dealings with him when he was a Conservative MP that Dudley doesn't' do woke under my leadership."

He said the council had bucked the national trend by setting a five-year balanced financial plan.

"Unlike other neighbouring councils, some now Reform controlled, Dudley must no longer must make stringent cuts to services and can now concentrate on giving the people of Dudley a very streamlined and efficiently run council that doesn't do woke.

"The post he refers to was created many years ago, is currently vacant, with no plans for it to be filled, and in the subsequent restructure that post will be deleted. 

"Mr Longhi must be very stressed out if he's complaining about jobs and roles that if vacant are costing us absolutely nothing."

But Mr Longhi said Councillor Harley had been leader of the council for the past six years, and questioned why it had not been made redundant earlier.