Fat Cats emigrate from the city to 9-5 administrator role

The Tax Payers' Alliance has exposed one of the reasons why our council taxes are rising well above inflation every year - to pay big bosses. The number of local authority staff earning more than £100,000 jumped from 429 in 2005 to 578 last year, an increase of 35 per cent. Peter Gilroy, the chief executive of Kent, had the highest salary at £229,999. Andrew Allum, chairman of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, said: “-Thousands of pensioners are having to choose between heating their homes and paying their council tax bills. It’s a complete insult to their dignity that so much of their money goes down the drain on top salaries for council staff-.”

As with all other taxes it seems, council taxes have risen at an alarming and unjustifiable rate since Labour came to power in 1997 - with average bills jumping from £688 to £1315. Like Gordon Brown's stealth taxes, the tax payer has never been consulted on these tax rises or had manifesto pledges. We are being held to ransom and there's nothing we can do. In response we're told that we're getting the brightest and best in the relevant fields to run our local authorities, which is complete nonsense. The brightest and best are taken up in the private sector where they are earning their money and results driven. The bureaucracy of local authorities do not allow the brightest and best to flourish. It is hard to know what these extra 150 fat cats have done for our local communities and boroughs.