When your council is involved in running a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) election in the spring, you don’t anticipate holding another in the autumn. But if the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.

So, with the resignation of police boss Philip Allott, after widespread condemnation for remarks he made about violence against women and girls, councils in North Yorkshire and York found themselves having to organise yet another election. It would have to be done at very short notice, with all the COVID risk assessments and safety measures that have become part of all our lives.