Council fat cats are creaming off huge sums of taxpayers' cash for doing next to nothing in their bureaucratic non-jobs – or so the TaxPayers' Alliance (TA) and the Daily Mail would have us all believe.

Yes, it is that time of year again. The moment when the TA publishes its town hall rich list – which just happens to coincide with council tax bills thudding menacingly on residents' doormats…and a trip to the polling stations for some.