It may have been billed as the Autumn Statement but it was the third budget of 2015. While the shadow chancellor tossed Mao’s Little Red Book on the Table of the House, it was George Osborne who thumped the Red Book down and stamped his dominance on the Commons as the most political chancellor in recent times.

With the Spending Review aligning with the Autumn Statement, his statement was all about where the cuts would fall. Without the dominance of Simon Stephens forcing additional funding for the NHS or massed generals and admirals demanding more defence spending, it was inevitable that local government would be singled out again - victims of delivering far more than their share of savings over the last five years. Fund Authority