It's August. I hope many of you will be off somewhere even warmer than London.  If you do, try and avoid staying in touch with home.  This may help you avoid advice flowing from many quarters.

Ed Miliband has just done two weeks in France, and every day he's been away more and more helpful advice on what he should do has been forthcoming.  At present, despite a lead in the polls, there is now a real possibility that local government could have its favourite secretary of state for a while longer.

Labour's lead is much less than half that achieved by David Cameron in August 2008, and Cameron's personal ratings remain stronger than Ed Miliband's.  Last election, many voters said they chose who to vote for based on the personality of the leader over actual policies, and so all these things together give many Labour MPs the jitters.

Lots can change in a few months, but if Labour are to have a better chance of leaving opposition, they need to build a narrative that deals with living standards AND stewardship of the economy in a coherent fashion.  If it could weave in localism in a convincing way and persuade the Daily Mail it loves local government, so much the better.  But that is a fantasy (the Daily Mail liking local government).

Meanwhile in the real world, local politicians of all stripes are a little bit more chipper than last year.  They are dealing with austerity, and despite facing huge challenges, have maintained satisfaction levels.  In some places, like Hackney, they have raised them (its rating is now higher than many county councils).  So while plenty of advice is available on stopping waste, letting residents rent out their front gardens as parking spaces and so on, I strongly recommend two weeks off for all leaders and chief executives.

You'll feel better for it, and on the basis of your recent numbers, you've earned it, because you're getting used to the new normal, which looks to be here until 2020 – and some of you are actually enjoying it.

Ben Page is chief executive of Ipsos MORI