When the rumours of reorganisation first emerged, we didn't take them too seriously, did we? There were whispers from the fringes of conferences and throw-away remarks from an opposition on the cusp of government.

But who would actually burn through all that political capital to rationalise English local government? Who would declare war on districts, without wanting to throw swathes of the country into years of disruptive change when there is so much else to do?