THE bins were collected, books went in and out of the libraries and vital functions such as social services and planning continued without undue disruption.

And a ground-breaking act of law enforcement took place at 10.01am yesterday when the first parking ticket was issued by the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.

BCP Council replaced the three councils which ran its towns until last week, while a new Dorset Council is covering the rest of the county – sweeping away an entire tier of local government.

Both councils were keen to show their first day’s activities. BCP shared a picture of the first car to receive a ticket, for parking on a pavement by double yellow lines at Littledown Avenue, while the authority also tweeted a photo of its first wedding at Bournemouth Town Hall and a tree planting at Sandy Meads Road.

Meanwhile, Dorset Council shared pictures of its workforce creating a new parking area at Avon Heath Country Park, conducting a routine visit to a gypsy and traveller site and rescuing a red-eared terrapin dumped at Butts Pond in Sturminster Newton.

For a month, the new councils will be run by the councillors who were elected to serve on the old authorities.

That means there are currently 120 councillors covering Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and 174 for Dorset County. But at the elections on May 2, that will be reduced to 76 on BCP and 82 on DorsetCounty.

Given Dorset’s political history, the Conservatives could expect to rule both new councils with thumping majorities. But in the chaotic politics of 2019, it is possible there could be some surprises.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole last saw local elections on the same day as the general election that unexpectedly gave David Cameron a majority in Parliament in 2015. The national swing, with a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote, helped unseat some long-serving opposition councillors and strengthen the Tory grip on power.

These local elections will inevitably be affected by national politics, with Theresa May’s government suffering almost daily defeats in Parliament as it tries to find a way to deliver Brexit. Despite the regular humiliations, the Tories remain slightly ahead or neck-and-neck with Labour in the polls nationally, while the formation of the Independent Group has made the picture still less clear.

Locally, there is some momentum in favour of independents too. Christchurch has seen the defection of some long-serving Tory councillors who opposed the merger with Bournemouth and Poole, and who will now stand without a party label. In Bournemouth, too, some political veterans have gone independent after being rejected as candidates by their local parties.

The only safe prediction is that for anyone interested in local politics, these elections will be worth staying up for.