‘Politicians are not the only people who do politics!' So said ?Mike Green,  the chief executive of Stockton-on-Tees BC at a recent Local Government event.

He was referring to the reality of local government that decisions are not simply based on a business case, financially driven or even a response to popular demand. They are often a compromise, sometimes described as the least worst option -  not so much driven by ideology as pragmatism. That being the case, Mr Green rightly stressed the need for future senior officers to understand the political environment they worked within and the best way to get that was through talking more to members. Yes and no Mike.