A fortnight on from the Local Government Association (LGA) annual conference, I've been reflecting on what felt different this year compared with last. Many things have moved on at pace while others seem to have barely shifted at all. Brexit is as muddled and uncertain as it was 12 months ago, we're no closer to the fundamental rethink of business rates and our national sporting teams remain unable to pull off a win to coincide with the Tuesday evening of conference but England's cricketing win at Lords has made up for it.

But in terms of the changes, the biggest shift was the marked deterioration in chief executives' confidence that they can continue to weather the funding storm.