Cynics might claim that there is no accident of timing in how today’s re-launch of the Big Society initiative coincides with press coverage that 200 council chief officers earn more than the Prime Minister. The Daily Telegraph is fairly typical in its proclamation of findings by independent researcher Income Data Services who report how almost half of councils pay their chief executives more than the £142,500 awarded to David Cameron in 2010.
Whether this revelation is supposed to spark a backlash against council fat cats and engender a new innate sense of altruism among us mortals is debatable. Just as unlikely however is that there might be a reasoned comparison of the capabilities and responsibilities involved in the respective roles.
Perhaps it's slightly whimsical but we find ourselves pondering what kind of professional job Gordon Brown would have done if he had the task of managing the complex relationship between council tax benefits, housing benefits and employment advice at his local town hall. Could Tony Blair have evolved an effective local economic development strategy without illegally invading a neighbouring authority? And would Nick Clegg even know where to start in formulating a statutory plan which safeguarded the rights of vulnerable people and met social care imperatives? Probably not.
Then again, how many council chief executives counted a personal photographer as a prerequisite for doing the job before taking up their posts?
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