Despite appearances to the contrary, politics is a team sport and as such needs support and training to succeed. Sadly, most political parties don’t provide the necessary support for their legions of local councillors. So, the Local Government Association (LGA) stepped into the vacuum to provide a comprehensive range of political support and development programmes (and a shout out to the Local Government Information Unit who has also provided an impressive range of development opportunities to councillors over the years).

In an age where national politicians can barely speak to each other, it is a remarkable example of cross-party partnership.