Phil pointed out a couple of days ago how strong the criticism has been of local councils and their depositing of nearly a billion quid in Icelandic banks. Since he wrote that post the journalists that he believes lack knowledge on this issue have switched the emphasis to noting how late some councils continued investing in them (one example is Caerphilly council which last deposited on September 15).

The longer trend emerging out of this will be the localism trend grinding to a halt. If we have banks being nationalised then, the unfortunate result (leaving aside whether this is unfair or not) will be that local government simply can't be trusted with more control over money.

With lines like incompetence and complacency are endemic within Britain's local authorities being used in the national press, the financial divisions of councils should prepare themselves for some sustained flak. Without the statutory protection granted to private investors, local authorities have little more than concerted pressure on central government and prayers to deal with the issue.

Recent economic events have completely changed the political situation at all levels in Britian. Councils running to central government to recoup their investments indicates, that even with white papers and speeches devoted to devoluting power, we still rely very much upon Westminster when the going gets tough.