Reading Borough Council (RBC) will ask for two extra councillors despite Conservative members attacking the increased cost.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is undertaking an electoral review of the council this year, based on its analysis of the 2017 annual canvass in Reading.

RBC agreed on Monday (July 15) to write the LGBCE to say it wants to increase the number of councillors from 46 to 48, have three members in each of its 16 wards and continue holding elections by thirds.

The review is expected to be finalised next summer but will not be implemented until the May 2022 elections.

Councillor Jason Brock, leader of RBC, said: “We all feel that it is important in the Labour administration that we seek to retain as far as possible the ratio between councillors and electors.

“48 seems to do this best. If we wanted to keep it as close as possible we would be proposing 51.

“It is also worth emphasising the fact the role of a councillor has changed over time.

“Emails, presented the promise of an easier way to communicate, have in fact increase the workload enormously and the response time as well.

“There is nothing wrong with that but it does place greater pressure and demand on each individual councillor.”

Councillor Emma Warman said it doesn’t look good to increase the number of councillors so soon after increasing special responsibility allowances.

RBC significantly increased special responsibility allowances last month to match the level of responsibility.

Cllr Warman called for a reduction of councillors to 45, pointing out that West Berkshire Council reduced its council membership from 52 councillors to 43 in 2017.

She added elections every four years should be reconsidered “because of the cost”.

Councillor Tony Page countered that RBC saves “a six-figure sum” by not having Parish councils compared to other Berkshire authorities, while Cllr Brock said Conservative councillors were “advocating for a less democratic town”.

The LGBCE will decide on the total number of councillors at a meeting on August 20, 2019.

Reading is eligible for review because the 2017 canvass showed over 30 per cent of its wards had an electorate that was more than 10 per cent different from the authority’s average.

Lib Dem councillor Ricky Duveen supported the proposal to add two extra councillors and keep elections three out of every four years, saying “it brings much closer contact with residents”.

Conservative councillor Simon Robinson called for a referendum on how often to have elections but Cllr Brock said he disagreed with referendums.

The last review of ward boundaries in Reading was undertaken by the former Boundary Committee between February 2001 and June 2002.

Reading’s population has grown by 21 per cent in the last 38 years.