WITH the post-Covid world inching nearer as vaccines roll out and R numbers fall, it seems Cheshire is also getting closer to a normal political landscape.

That being said, the pandemic is far from being a distant memory — so it's hugely important everyone continues to follow the relevant guidance for their area and wears a mask when asked to — and it also means that we're not quite back at the stage of full-on political game-playing just yet.

The prompt for all this is that both Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils have full council meetings in the next fortnight, and both have to make some difficult decisions based on the financial realities they face.

So, just what are the key issues driving the tension?

Putting the brakes on active travel

As mentioned, both councils meet in full in the next two weeks — and both of their Cabinets also met this week for the final time in 2020.

Continuing the symmetry, both meetings also saw attempts by the boroughs' respective Conservative groups to introduce more free parking in their areas.

In Cheshire East, opposition leader Cllr Janet Clowes led the charge, with shadow deputy leader Cllr Stewart Gardiner claiming the issue was about giving a "projection" that the council was encouraging residents to shop locally.

Ultimately, the cabinet quashed the issue — for the time being — but a similar attempt by Cheshire West's Tory councillors a week prior gained a lot more traction.

Cllr Neil Sullivan, shadow cabinet member for finance, said his group's bid was about keeping CWAC's businesses "viable, whatever it takes".

His notion was rejected by Cllr Carol Gahan, who said Cllr Sullivan's calculations that it would cost the authority £600,000 meant it was "clear that what he is suggesting is on the basis of CWAC having spare money".

"Our position appears to be balanced but that is because we have estimated income from central government. We have not received it yet," added Cllr Gahan.

Since then, representatives from a multitude of parties in Northwich have publicly backed the idea.

Tied to the free parking effort was a plea to end the CWAC's active travel measures, which have created an uproar in Chester.

The city has seen experimental measures come into force, which restrict cars into one lane on the A51 Boughton and A5116 Liverpool Road.

The subsequent congestion and delays has caused a CWAC to launch a taskforce examining the plans, and a Facebook group called 'People against travel lanes Chester' now boasts more than 3,000 members.

Unlike CEC leadership's dispatch of the free parking bid, the active travel lanes criticism has shown it has got real legs.

It was brought up again at a question time session of the CWAC cabinet, where deputy leader Cllr Karen Shore promised residents more consultation on future schemes.

And, ahead of the borough's final 2020 full council meeting on December 10, Cllr Sullivan has submitted a notice of motion which "requests that Cabinet review and consider instructing removal of the [lanes] within the earliest practicable timescale".

Taxing times for finance

Running alongside this is the fact that both councils have released draft budgets for the upcoming financial year.

By law, councils have to set a balanced budget in February so any pandemic shortfalls need to be accounted for.

CEC's is estimated to be around £13 million — down from £26 million prediction in October — and CWAC's is just £1 million.

The financial challenges do not end there, though, as central government looks to squeeze local authorities in an effort to claw back some of the money it has outlaid in the coronavirus pandemic.

While Cheshire East has not said how much it is being asked to economise, Cheshire West and Chester has warned that 180 jobs could go as it looks to save between £34 to 43 million next year.

And both plans have drawn criticism.

In Cheshire East, veteran Lib Democrat councillor Rod Fletcher has said the draft document lacks the detail required for consultation — an accusation which Labour's Steve Hogben fired back on, saying it was a lack of clarity from central government which resulted in the budget being the way it was.

Over the border, Cabinet members are facing more difficulties on their council tax plans.

Cllr Neil Sullivan challenged the leadership to keep any rate rise to two per cent — the maximum authorities can increase the sum by annually without going to a residents' referendum — back in October.

And the same question was brought up at the public question time, with Cllr Gahan not ruling out an increase.

What does this mean for full council?

Any notions that Cheshire's political universe could end the year quietly can now be dispelled.

In Cheshire East, the leadership need to show voters that their decision to depart from a decade of Conservative rule in 2019 was a smart one, by appearing to have a grip on the finances and manage the Covid recovery.

The opposition need to broadly do the same thing, only demonstrate their ambitions for the borough in the 2020s.

For starters, raising council tax ahead of a recession is never going to be a vote winner in Cheshire West. Add in the contentious issue of Chester's active travel lanes, then you have a real conundrum for the Labour group.

Labour will not want to be seen as a tax-raising, traffic-creating authority — and the Conservatives will be wary of appearing to be pro-cuts and pro-emissions party that will lead to hundreds of job losses and a decline in air quality.

In a year of immense difficulty for us all, everyone's favourite is back: party politics.