“LOOK at me, fresh as a daisy,” chirruped councillor Jonny Bucknell after another night avoiding expensive conference hotel costs by sleeping in the back of his car in a brewery car park.

As revealed here in May – a story later picked up by the Manchester Evening News, the Evening Standard and the Telegraph, happy to be of service, chaps – Bucknell freshens up in the local leisure centre showers before heading to his meetings.

When he heard I was catching a late loco back to Euston, he said there was room for one more in the boot. A kind enough offer, but at which point I made my excuses and left.