The fiscal mood music of recent has been more than a little dissonant. The Prime Minister has warned that the upcoming Budget will be ‘painful', while the chancellor Rachel Reeves has said there will be ‘difficult' decisions on tax, spending and welfare. At the same time there will be ‘no return to austerity' and the chancellor says it is time to count the benefits as well as the cost of public investment.

What to make of all this? And what does it mean for local government?