The days may be long gone when Liverpool was controlled by the Marxist Militant Labour group but it still must be one of the few British cities where the council leader goes on strike. Warren Bradley, the political leader, dutifully followed his fellow firefighters out to protest at job cuts in August.

He says he fulfilled his council duties but some business leaders say meetings with him were cancelled. A centrist Liberal Democrat, he did not favour action but came out in solidarity with his colleagues. “I was then asked to mediate between the sides and we came to a swift agreement,” he says.