So, the long-running controversy over the proposed privatisation of Cornwall Council’s services is finally coming to its long-awaited conclusion.

The authority has now officially placed the plans on hold while all options are considered, and the blind ‘sell-off at all costs’ approach seems happily consigned to the bin.

We can only hope that lessons have been learned from the whole tawdry affair.

What was witnessed at New County Hall last week may have been entertaining for onlookers, but it was a shocking display of just how far the council has fallen.

Ask anyone who has been involved in local politics, and they will tell you they have never seen anything like it.

We saw a new Conservative leader of the authority elected by members of the Liberal Democrats, while the Tory members of the ruling cabinet went against their own party and publicly supported an Independent candidate.

Four members of the cabinet then immediately resigned when their man lost, suggesting it would be impossible for them to work alongside the man who had been their deputy leader for the past three years.

When the council met yesterday - for the first time since the events of last week - there was a conciliatory air in the room - despite one or two murmurs of discontent still bubbling away under the surface.

Indeed, the decision to place the plans on hold to allow careful scrutiny to take place could almost be considered sensible - a rare event in recent years.

However, the waters at Cornwall Council rarely run smoothly for long, and I have no doubt normal service will return within weeks.