Manchester Council looking for chauffeur hire

The head of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, is looking to hire a chauffeur driven vehicle for the next two years. The advertisement published on the internet invites chauffeur hire companies to submit tenders for the job which is estimated to set the tax payer back by £10,000.

The chauffeur will be required to transport primarily Sir Richard whilst on public engagements however it will occasionally be called upon to chauffeur the Mayor of Manchester as well. The official advert calls for “a chauffeur and executive car to transport the leader of the city council to and from appointments.

 Sir Richard, who is the leader of the labour group, argues that the proposed chauffeur scheme is a far cheaper option than the previous system where a chauffeur was employed on a full time basis. Sir Richard himself call an end to this and the cost of chauffeur driven transport for council officials has been in steady decline over the past five years.

However this has done little to quell the anger of members of the public and certain councillors. Martin Eakins is a liberal democrat councillor and is dissatisfied with the decision as he explains: “Labour spends almost £4m a year of our money on car allowances and taxis for councillors and staff, but it seems his own car or even a taxi isn’t good enough for our `champagne socialist’ leader, who needs a chauffeur.”

Although Sir Richard made a strong case in his defence, arguing that he regularly cycles to work or uses his own vehicle to cut down on the cost of travel. He maintains that the proposed chauffeur hire scheme will save money as they will “only pay for it when we need it” adding “It’s effectively a taxi contract and the cost is justified.”