Plenty of councils reported having Jaguar XJs, Volvo S80s, Skoda Superbs and the like (even a Volkswagen Phaeton) permanently on their books, with leasing or purchase costs of up to £10,000 a year.

If you haven’t got any money but the bins need emptying and the elderly need looking after, what are you going to do: cancel after-school clubs to make it harder for parents to go to work or flog the mayoral Lexus?

Sure, it would be nice to have both, wouldn’t it? Lots of support for those who need it, plus a bit of ceremonial extravagance on the side, as you would think would be possible in the world’s fifth-richest country.

But apparently there’s no money, as councils all over the country have spent all that they have, plus some more that they haven’t, some of which has gone on prestige cars. Realising that isn’t an outstanding look, plenty have already decided to put a stop on it.

I’m normally very wary about how life gradually becomes more beige, more joyless, but even I can see how ‘occasional Corsa’ looks better than ‘permanent Jaguar’.

But if arriving in a hired Corsa really is too mediocre a look for a mayor, I think I’ve got an answer that might keep happy both pomp enthusiasts and those desperate to watch over every bean a council spends: keeping or hiring a classic car.

It’s still prestigious, entirely inoffensive and a sure way to spread joy, yet cheaper than spending five figures a year on leasing or buying a new car.