Council's first-class train travel 'out of touch'
BBCA council has come under further fire after it was revealed it is the only local authority in north-east England to pay for its members to use first-class trains.
Last year the BBC reported that Labour-run South Tyneside Council spent close to £15,000 over 18 months on first-class train tickets for its councillors.
Freedom of information (FOI) requests sent to the region's 11 other councils have now revealed that South Tyneside Council is the only local authority that pays for upgraded tickets.
Green councillor Rachael Taylor said the expenses were "out of touch". South Tyneside Labour said the claims followed council rules and the local authority said members were entitled to travel expenses.
Responding to a FOI request on 24 December, South Tyneside Council most recently bought first-class train tickets for its councillors to travel to the Local Government Association summit in London on 18 November 2025.
Return tickets bought for leader Tracey Dixon and councillor Jane Carter each cost £269.90.
South Tyneside CouncilTaylor pointed out the local authority was facing "serious debt", which meant likely cuts to "valued services like libraries and family hubs".
"Councillors should always travel by the cheapest means possible and allowing first-class travel risks appearing wasteful and out of touch to many residents," she said.
Green councillor and chair of the local authority's audit committee Chris Davies said the "excessive expenses" cut across the council's "priorities and proud values".
Independent councillor Andrew Guy said councillors were "public servants, not executives" and "our expenses should reflect that".
"First-class travel does not meet the test of necessity or value for money," he said.
'Seek cost-effective travel'
The BBC also submitted FOI requests to Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Hartlepool, Gateshead, Northumberland, Durham, Sunderland councils.
They all confirmed they had not paid for their councillors to travel on first-class trains in 2024 or 2025, with the exception of Gateshead Council, which only confirmed it had not paid for first-class train tickets in 2024 and until 19 December 2025.
It requested a second FOI request to be sent for information about the latter half of December 2025.
A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said its constitution stated that all members should "seek cost-effective travel arrangements at all times", but it also allowed each councillor to choose the method of travel according to the "specific requirements of that councillor".
