I've spent a big part of the last six months working on proposals for a combined authority for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This brings together a city, a county and seven districts in a single formal entity to address key priorities around economic development and transportation. It also gives us the ability to engage with government in a more structured discussion about devolved powers.

This is not without its challenges. Have we identified the right boundaries for collaboration? Where does sovereignty lie? Is this a cipher for local government reorganisation? How can we best balance issues of population scale and geography?