Local government now has four months in which to stop pretending, to come clean and so to inject a measure of honesty and rigour into the forthcoming Westminster election campaign.

Polls say people trust their councillors more than their MPs. If so, it's local elected members who should start treating voters like adults and confront them with fiscal reality. They must speak some unpalatable truths – both for the sake of local government's future and in the interests of England (with parallel points to be made by councillors in Scotland and Wales about the devolved administrations).