I can't resist joining in the debate between Ben and Phil. I don't see how we can conclude that because some local authorities invested money in banks in Iceland that have got into trouble that some how this undermnies the case for trusting local authorities with greater autonomy. There are a group of journalists who might be tempted to take that knee-jerk line. But thinking people need to ask themselves would these same people then conclude that we can no longer place greater responsibility on charities and voluntary organisations, some of whom seem to have placed funds with these Icelandic banks. What about other public bodies run by business-savvy managers...some of them appear to have also got into the same position? We could also mention expert public regulators asleep at their watch or the financial brilliance of some of the banks that got us into this mess. The case for greater autonomy rests on the fact that we as citizens can keep a keener eye on what is going on when decisions are made locally. The events of the last few months suggest that such a keener eye is needed more than ever.