LABOUR councillors are expected to vote to cut councillors’ allowances to save council services tomorrow.

A motion put forward by Labour councillors will call for councillors’ allowances to remain at their current level so the money saved can be ploughed into saving the town’s libraries, which are currently at risk of closing.

Councillor Ray Ballman, who will propose the motion at the full council meeting, said: “The whole point of the council is to deliver services to the people of Swindon and that is what this motion is about. The resources of the council should be directed at services that our people use. The Conservative administration keep telling us how challenging the budget is for them, well here is another way of saving some money and supporting services.

“The Tories have already rejected Labour’s alternative budget, which would have saved these libraries, this is another way of generating the saving needed.

“People across our town are feeling the pinch at the moment due to the economic downturn, there is no reason that councillors should be different.”

The motion proposes to rescind the decision to increase councillors’ allowances in line with the local government pay settlement and reduce individual member allowances, creating a saving of £29,500.

The motion also proposes to use that money to support the branch library services.