Bit of a mess.

What a nasty surprise it must have been for Cllr. Barry Abraham, financial supremo extraordinaire, to discover that there was a big problem lurking in the Council's coffers after all, and indeed one which would require a cut in staffing which is, proportionately, several orders of magnitude greater than any announced elsewhere in the Country to date. How rapidly things have deteriorated since November, when Bazza was able to assure us all that everything in the garden was rosy.

So why has the IWC been hit so much more severely than most? Does the clue to the problem lie in Pugh's constant bleating about the poor grant settlements we get from Central Government?

It would appear not.

Over the three years of the current grant period, the Council is receiving a total increase of 14.8% in its Formula Grant, well above the English average of 9.2% and comfortably ahead of the Retail Price Index in every year.

Which makes it all the more surprising that Pugh has been chasing a 5% tax rise for next year when inflation is forecast to fall to 1.2%. Expect some backtracking from this because the Government is almost certain to cap any rises of that level, on the grounds that only an idiot raises taxes in a recession.

Nevertheless, we shall still see a unique combination of one of the best grant settlements in the Country, some of the most draconian service cuts, and one of the highest tax increases. Nice work, guys.

How far we've come since the halcyon days when Pugh & Co. were able to promise "to set a level of Council Tax in line with the most Frugal (sic) Unitary Authorities in the Country." (11 April 2005).

Even after adjusting for the fact that we run our own fire brigade on the Island, to achieve that promise would require a cut of 12% in the Island's Council Tax next year rather than an increase of 3.5%. Yet another manifesto commitment looking a bit iffy then?