Three Manchester City Councillors have been

“caught owing more than £2,500 of unpaid council tax”  and “have all been issued with summonses since last November – but all paid off their arrears in time to be allowed to vote through the town hall’s budget in early March, after being warned by their bosses.” [great story by Jennifer Williams of the Manchester Evening News]

One is  Kevin Peel, who is now chair of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee,  but has never bothered to reply in any meaningful way to  seven concrete suggestions on how to engage more of Manchester’s citizens in the scrutiny process. Another is Nasrin Ali.  And that other is…

Rebecca Moore, chairwoman of the City Council Tax Avoidance Task Group, who in January last year, during a meeting of the Council’s economy scrutiny committee announced that half the British cabinet were engaging in tax avoidance.

Ms Moore, a regular user of Twitter, once declared herself very happy with the City Council’s environmental record, even after it was pointed out to her that the City’s emissions were going up.

That is all.

NB Year ago, back when I was paying council tax, (I’m currently a full-time student, so exempt), I ended up with a final warning letter from the Council, and then paid up (I, like Councillor Peel, was mortified).  It can happen.  If you’re a councillor though, aren’t you supposed to be Caesar’s wife, above reproach?  Especially if you’re chairing a tax avoidance task group, and spouting off about “half the British cabinet” #justsaying

NB2. Am not a member of ANY political party.  Not the Lib Dems, not the Greens, not any socialist or fascist sect either.