On 12 April 2018, I was honoured to be elected leader of Northamptonshire CC. At the time, the council had been rocked by revelations relating to our finances, which prompted a critical independent report, and the subsequent resignation of my predecessor.

On that day I did my best to present a clear picture to my colleagues at the council and to the public at large. For too long, facts had been ignored, and many had clearly hoped that worsening structural problems, which had led to spiralling costs, would just ‘sort themselves out’. Nobody goes into local government to cut vital services, but this was the stark picture we were presented with at the time. We had seemingly insurmountable revenue debts of around £65m, little or no reserves, and no obvious way to get our finances out of the red.