For once, Liverpool and its council were hoping to stay out of the headlines.
The city was a notable absentee from last week's local elections. One of the ramifications of last year's historically bad government inspection of the city council was a new system of elections being brought in, starting with a set of all out votes next year.
Over the water in Wirral, there were worries about a close-fought battle between the Tories and Labour and how things would be run, all over the country town halls were preparing for gains, losses and some difficult stories. Liverpool was hoping for a quiet week.
