Much back patting; Many increased top council salaries with council leaders set up for life;More local Quango's;More non accountability; More cash poured into central Manchester and less for the other areas. The Government can't solve the economic problems so they are just giving councils enough rope to hang themselves with. Makes great political sense, but i'd rather be treated as part of the rest of the UK than some area that the governemt are washing their hands off. I wonder if it has anything to do with Manchester being a predominantly Labour area(the Tories have given up on us!). It's a bit like giving a child ten quid to get rid of them for a while. Hardly good parenting is it ? This will be a disaster and a chance for the Tories to say 'Told you so.Labour can't govern locally.Look at what they did to Manchester.How can they govern nationally again ?'