1,472 Quango Executives Earn Over £100,000 in Taxpayer-Funded Salaries

Recent analysis by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed that nearly 1,500 employees of UK quangos—quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations—receive annual remuneration exceeding £100,000, with hundreds earning more than the Prime Minister. The highest-paid include Channel 4’s chief executive and Mark Thurston of HS2, with some packages nearing £1 million. Homes England leads with the most six-figure earners, followed by the BBC, the National Employment Savings Trust, and the Financial Conduct Authority. Critics argue that despite Labour’s stated intent to reduce the size of the state, 27 new quangos have been established since coming to power, raising concerns about government waste and lack of oversight. The findings have intensified calls from both opposition and advocacy groups to urgently streamline or privatize some public bodies to reduce excessive spending. Meanwhile, Labour faces pressure to act quickly as the scale of high executive pay packages highlights the challenge of reigning in public sector costs.