Will the chancellor's first post-EU referendum Autumn Statement on 23 November contain any positive news for the public finances and local public services? Optimists point to the chancellor dropping his predecessor's target to clear the deficit by 2020. The prime minister's conference statement that ‘government can and should be a force for good' gives further encouragement.

However, pessimists or realists advise waiting for the Office for Budget Responsibility growth forecasts, post-Brexit, and the impact on tax revenues. Pressures on NHS finances and welfare spending mean tight control of day-to-day revenue spending elsewhere will need to continue.