Yinnon Ezra: 'A week is a long time in politics'

Much has been made about various councils "changing hands" and some being "hung" - no political party having an overall majority of seats.

At Hampshire County Council (HCC) this is the final election in its 137-year history - the coming year will in effect be its "legacy year".

Next May there will be elections for the "shadow" new unitary councils, giving everyone a year to formally merge the services currently the responsibility of both county and district councils.

The new mayor for the Solent will also be elected, giving all of us something new to get used to.

The TV screens were full of joyous happy victors and downcast losers.

Having worked as a chief officer in three councils, I have witnessed several scenarios the day after the election. The "day after" is very different.

Newly elected councillors will quickly be into the council building to be greeted by senior officers who will sign them up and generally point them to the "induction".

The "old" council cabinet has gone overnight.

The majority party will elect a leader who in turn will start allocating "cabinet" posts.

If, however, the council does not have a "majority party," then the wheeling and dealing begins in earnest.

From the officer point of view, this is the most difficult outcome to deal with as generally clear political direction is preferred.

The outcome of these discussions can be very unpredictable - leading to minority administrations, joint-administrations to all issues going to a vote.

The council budget for the year has already been set.

For HCC, much cash has already slipped through to schools directly, highway contracts already allocated and the director of finance probably advising that the social care budget is overspending.

The need to balance the "in-year" budget will be the first task of the "new" council.

Most staff and councillors will be thinking about where and how they fit into the merger between district and county.

The staff wondering if they will still have jobs and the councillors trying to work out where best they could make a difference.

Although it is another 12 months till the shadow unitary elections, informal discussions will no doubt begin about new structures, new locations, area committees - the agenda will be long, complex, and in the short term expensive.

Finally, the current political complexion may also change again - someone said "a week is a long time in politics"!

HCC and the districts that will all become one have been well-managed.

All have ensured that each year their budgets work and none are on the verge of bankruptcy.

But things are really tight, particularly at HCC.

The picture in the four district councils is a little better as they do not have the responsibility for social care.

Some have a little more flexibility to support local initiatives and voluntary groups.

But as the "planning authority," they are grappling with the government's house building targets.

All these pressing concerns will need to be managed at the same time as councillors and staff are working towards the new dawn.

Suddenly the enthusiastic win in the election looks a little challenging, requiring much thought, wisdom and bipartisanship.

One of the key traits of local government is "resilience" as elected councillors and officers are hugely committed to doing their very best for local communities.

There is still room for innovation, partnership and making some things happen. But there is much work to do!

By Yinnon Ezra