Another year, another TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) Town Hall Rich List hits the headlines – complete with all the usual outrage. Ultimately, town hall ‘fat cat bosses' may be ‘named and shamed,' compared with football stars and the PM, and held up as a waste of public funds. But it will pass.

Over the years, some past participants of the rich list have spoken up for their own salaries. But the ‘L'Oreal defence' – ‘because I'm worth it' – inevitably makes matters worse. Telling low earning residents your high-flying salary provides value for money sounds spoiled at best – and, at worst, it seems patronising and out of touch.