Is the era of public servant bashing drawing to a close? Could we be stepping out of the ‘tepid bath of managed decline’? Or will the political narrative turn again, throwing cold water on the capability of public sector professionals for a cheap win?

Using Whitehall mandarins and their town hall counterparts as a political football to score goals with the public is nothing new. Local government stalwarts will remember only too well the rhetoric of Eric Pickles and the Daily Mail, of fat cat council bosses and their football manager salaries.