I returned home last night to discover that my new wife had nearly had her head chopped off by the door to our loft, which had mysteriously swung open as she walked underneath.

Spousal decapitation would have been a sad end to the day, although on the plus side, my mortgage would have been paid off. She escaped with merely a grazed neck, and my disappointment in having to do some emergency DIY was only compounded when I opened my post to discover the new issue of “Intelligent Life,” the lifestyle magazine I get with my subscription to the Economist.

It tells stories of lives so wealthy and sophisticated that they are light-years out of my reach. In my tattered suit returning grubby from a day at work and then the Town Hall, all these Rolex-sporting outdoorsy-types on their sail boats appearing in stories about baking your own bread and holidaying in Martha’s Vineyard seem a world away.

I don’t know whether I am truly envious, or whether I’d actually get bored of being a wealthy member of the east coast elite in about a fortnight, and long to return to Prestwich. What I do know is that that type of free and easy lifestyle is infinitely preferable to attending Council scrutiny meetings, which is where I was last night as my loft was imploding.

In an ideal world (well, a world in I remain in Prestwich as opposed to Cape Cod, but one in which scrutiny functions correctly) scrutiny would play a crucial role in the workings of the Council. We back bench members would have our say in the decisions of the Council, and feel equipped to give voice to local people and support or oppose what those in charge are doing.

Sadly, under the new “strong leader” model of local government, which was imposed in the last months of the Labour government and under which Bury Council now operates despite it being wanted by nobody, there isn’t much room for scrutiny. The leader and his cabinet can do more or less what they wish, unimpeded by such trivial irritants as other Councillors. It doesn’t only make scrutiny fairly pointless, but it makes me wonder why any Councillors are elected (and paid £8k a year each) at all.

Thankfully we had a good discussion about this at Scrutiny last night and have a plan to work to improve the situation. The new scrutiny arrangements are still bedding in, and I think there is a consensus that we want them to work. It’s just a shame that, right now, they aren’t. Still, at least I know what to do with anyone actively stopping them from improving. I just need to stand them underneath the door to my loft, and wait.

Rick