We are coming to the end of a long journey to decide what kind of local government we want in Somerset. Presented with two options for unitary councils – one covering the whole of the county, or two unitary authorities covering the east and west of the county, local people have voted for the two unitary solution by 65% to 35%.

People were not always so inclined to positively opt for unitary reorganisation. In 2007 a referendum resulted in 82% voting against a proposed single unitary council, and the then-Secretary of State rejecting the idea.