How credible is it that local government staff will take up, en masse, the Government's call to embrace the lure of John Lewis style co-operatives?

Certainly, the fulfilment of Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude's prophecy that one million of the estimated six million public sector workforce would one day be merrily engaged in employee-led ventures depends on the local authority sector pulling its weight. Proportionately, this could embrace up to 200,000 town hall staff.