By the time of the next general election, Watford, Three Rivers, Hertsmere and Dacorum could all have been stripped of their councils and all council services in the county will be run by a single authority.

That was the promise - or threat - from Hertfordshire County Council's leader Cllr Tim Williams this week, with a figure floated that the move could save £142 million a year.

Where you stand on this may depend on your politics, as well as your belief in how much saving money in government is a good thing.

Some will have noticed that at county level, Hertfordshire has been run by the Conservatives since 1973, with brief periods when there was no overall control.

They might conclude that barring disaster, this would mean the end of political power for Liberal Democrats, who currently run Watford, Three Rivers and St Albans but who might not get a sniff of power at county level. It would also rule Labour, Watford's opposition group, out of any hope of local decision-making.

There might be an argument that it would be fairer to divide the country in two - figures show that splitting the county up into two authorities would save £105 million.

It looks as if the country is going to have to make a lot of savings in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The question is whether people value democratic representation in terms of power at a local level or the savings a single council run at a county scale could bring.