NEWTON Abbot MP Martin Wrigley is one of five Devon MPs who still hold positions on local councils despite a burgeoning workload which one of them describes as ‘exhausting’.

It means they also remain eligible for thousands of pounds in council allowances on top of their new salaries for representing their constituencies in parliament.

The basic annual salary for an MP is £91,346 plus a generous pension scheme and allowances to run their offices and employ staff.

One Devon MP says she will give her council allowance to charity before standing down from her local role in 2026. Others are busy scaling back their council roles.

Two of Devon’s new Liberal Democrat MPs were council leaders when they were elected in July, while one led the main opposition party in a council chamber.

All three have now relinquished those roles and sit as ‘backbench’ councillors.

One councillor to stand down as a leader following the general election was Mr Wrigley, who led Teignbridge Council at the time he was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for Newton Abbot, overturning a Tory majority of more than 17,500.

He now serves as a backbencher on the district council, representing Dawlish North East, for which he is entitled to £6,223 a year. 

He chairs the council’s appointments and remuneration committee, for which there is no special responsibility allowance.

He is also a county councillor for Dawlish, entitling him to the £15,082 basic allowance. 

He stood down as chairman of one of the county highways committees.

In addition, Mr Wrigley represents Dawlish North East on Dawlish Town Council, which does not pay allowances.

He said after making his Westminster debut: ‘It’s exhausting, fascinating and terrifying – but brilliant as well.’

He said he had had to give up his role as leader, which was practically a full-time job in itself.

He went on: ‘It was with some regret that I stood down, but it was obviously the right thing to do. ‘Holding office at four different levels is not sustainable in the long term.

‘Being as involved as I was in all levels of local government cannot be sustained as an MP, but I will still work closely with Teignbridge.

‘If the MP’s office works closely with county, district, town and parish councils, we can get an awful lot more done.’

A Lib Dem spokesman summed up: ‘After years of Conservative MPs taking voters for granted, our newly elected Lib Dem MPs are getting on with delivering for their communities on local issues, and often, the work of being both an MP and local councillor goes hand in hand. 

‘The roles allow them to have a greater understanding of the local issues that matter.’

Some have argued they will serve their term of office rather than prompt ‘costly’ by-elections.

All council allowances are set by an independent organisation called the Independent Remuneration Panel, which has no councillors on it.

Allowances are provided to make it more practical for working people to serve as councillors without losing all their income.