I first joined local government in 1970 in a service role, and was appointed to my first corporate post following the wholesale restructure of councils outside London in 1974. Forty years later, I am soon to retire from full-time employment, having worked in several roles in a metropolitan unitary, two-tier county and nationally at the Local Government Association. I became chief executive in all of them, in unpredicted circumstances, but that is another story for another day. The reason for this reflection is not simply nostalgic, but to emphasise the fundamental differences which have taken place in local government during that time.
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