It could be you-hoo....

So go on then, have a guess how much your elected representatives on the Royal Borough of Kensington Council were paid in the last financial year in allowances....

....thats a total figure for all of them added together.....

....£100,000?
....£250,000?
....£750,000?

Oh no, more than that.

In just one year, they cost us £1,215,112 and this doesnt include any of the Dear Leaders expenses, nor any courier charges sending council papers out to the holiday home of Danny Boy Moylan...

So thats around £5 million for a council term, just giving elected councillors an allowance. It isnt linked to attendance, nor is it paid subject to any minimum performance requirements.

Every councillor receives at least £40,000 each over the full council term whether they turn up for every meeting or just one every six months - and others are paid up to an additional £200,000 in "special responsibility allowances".

Just to put this £5 million into perspective, its about half the annual council budget of childrens social work, and equal to the children leaving care and youth justice budgets added together.

It would pay the annual salary of a junior nurse for 294 years, or a rookie policeman for 225 years - or you could buy 4500 annual Oyster cards.

Nice job if you can get it.

Which leads Hornet onto the by elections in Cremorne and Earls Court.

Having seen the literature for the candidates in the Earls Court Ward, Hornet is impressed that one local independent candidate is standing on the ticket of not being paid the allowance, Jack Bovill describes himself as the "no allowance candidate" and therefore Hornet recommends him to readers of this blog living and voting in Earls Court to support.

In the interests of impartiality, the other candidates who to the best of Hornets knowledge who will be clamouring aboard the gravy train are Linda Wade (LD), Joel Barton (Labour) and Malcolm Spalding the independent-turned-Tory-in-a-matter-of-minutes.

Polling day is 16th September.