We're all in this together

Hornet has to give praise where it's due. There has been no more adept exponent of supporting your lifestyle 'on the tax' than Sir Cockle. Sadly, all good things come to an end. His standard of living has been mauled by two economic body blows. The £26,000 a year from his part time chairmanship of the inept London Councils has gone, followed closely by unlamented passing of the useless Audit Commission.

However, it's not without reason Sir Cockle is known as the 'Bear Grylls of local government survivalism.'

Dame Hornet (yes, she just received this honour for services against local government manipulation) has been passed this snippet from a well placed friend.

Most middle and senior management staff at the Royal Borough are on performance related pay. Last year all staff had a pay freeze – except the only staff who did not earn any more money were the lowly paid, front line staff grades. At Kensington and Chelsea, performance-related bonuses are a contractual obligation – so the Council has to pay them every year, whether or not there is a pay freeze.

It is rumoured that one or two of the most senior staff refused their bonuses last year in order to share the pain of those on salaries of £15-20,000. We doubt whether this will continue – and the Council, while trumpeting the second year of a staff pay freeze – will quietly keep topping up the incomes of higher paid staff"

Now nothing has been heard about how, in this 'we are all in it together' era councillor allowances will be impacted.

Rumours that Sir Cockle is working on a performance related scheme for his Cabinet cronies may be wide of the mark, though suspiciously he is silent on the neat little plan.

How could he dare in these straitened times? But when you have suffered the financial body blows he has it might be a question of desperate times....desperate remedies.

Dame Hornet says, "Don't you dare, Dear Leader, you already on a juicy little earner as Leader....  at least Leader at the moment