Cuts, what cuts, asked Ben Page and Bobby Duffy at Ipsos MORI's end-of-the-year round-up. Their polls keep affirming people's contentment, broadly speaking, with local services. Significant numbers of people even think services are better five years into austerity.

Such findings don't just make it harder for council leaders to complain about grants, they undermine predictions about what lies ahead. ‘You are crying wolf,' people may say. ‘You predicted disaster before and it didn't happen, so where's your credibility now?'