Britain's cupboard is looking pretty bare. After a binge of bail-outs, lifelines and fiscal stimuli, public borrowing is soaring. And if things look bad in Westminster, pain will be felt in town halls around the country. Councils get an average of three-quarters of their money from central-government grants, rising to 90% in poor areas. So "as national finances go, so go local finances," reckons Adam Marshall of the Centre for Cities, a think-tank. For the past ten years that has been a good deal: grants went up by 39% in real terms in the decade from 1997, though more work came with it. Now, as belts tighten in London, town-hall turns must be sucked in too.
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