With a few exceptions, London's borough councils might feel the Audit Commission's most recent comprehensive performance assessments give them reason to celebrate. London has only three one-star councils, while 23 are rated three or four-star, and most authorities are improving strongly or well.

But exceptions, however few, cannot be shrugged off, and none of us should celebrate while weak performance persists anywhere in the capital. Poor performance gets noticed across administrative boundaries. Londoners and visitors rarely confine their time to walking the streets and sampling the services of a single local authority. Equally importantly, even councils with high overall performance ratings can be shielding individual services which fail to match the best.