Local Government Reorganisation

Following the publication of the Devolution White Paper in December, the Government sought indications in January from councils wishing to be considered for the first tranche of devolution and local government reoform.

A total of 18 councils put their names forward and on 10 February Angela Rayner MP, the secretary of state, announced the 10 councils which would be part of the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) and would take the next steps of the reforms. These included: Cheshire East, Cumberland, Essex, East Sussex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex, and Westmorland and Furness, and Surrey. A surprise omission was Kent, which was thought to be an enthusiastic early adopter.

Mayoral elections in 2026

Each council will have to devise an outline programme by the end of March moving towards the creation of mayoral combined and unitary authorities, with detailed proposals by the autumn. Mayoral elections are expected in May 2026, with unitary council elections in 2027 or 2028. These councils would be in ‘shadow’ form for a year, taking over thereafter with all district, borough, city and existing unitaries abolished at that point.

Enthusiasm

Whilst some councils, such as Essex, have shown enthusiasm towards the new reformed system, others have been greatly opposed. Indeed, Devon’s eight district councils have joined forces to oppose the creation of a single unitary authority for the county and argue that it would ‘diminish local representation’. The creation of new unitary authorities would also mean that a lot of the smaller parties will lose their power when councils are merged.

Essex

Devolution will see a Greater Essex mayoral combined authority created, with between two and five unitary authorities created to replace the 15 current two-tier system of district, borough, unitary and city councils. Whilst the fate of the Essex Councils has been sealed, there are still concerns amongst local councillors and MPs about the next steps and the how the reforms will work in practice. Elections for an Essex Mayor will take place next May (2026), with this year’s county elections postponed. There has been criticism that these reforms were not in the Labour Party general election manifesto, although devolution was.

Basildon leader, Cllr Gavin Callaghan, has been a key promoter of devolution for Essex and upon the government announcement celebrated the end of the “age of complacency”. He said: “Today is significant for Essex. The age of complacency and decline in Essex is ending. Reorganisation is the reset button the county desperately needs”. This view is supported by Essex County Council leader, Cllr Kevin Bentley.

Local government reorganisation v housebuilding

Many critics also point out that local government reorganisation does not complement the what are the most ambitious house-building targets in our lifetime. Another point of contention is the cancellation of Essex local elections: this has garnered a response from Mark Francios MP for Rayleigh and Wickford: he stated that any delayed or cancelled elections would be nothing short of ‘undemocratic’. He challenged if devolution was the right thing for Essex and whether Essex locals are actually on board with devolution. Jim McMahon MP responded that he believes local people are more concerned about their services being ‘well-funded’ and running smoothly rather than who actually runs it or what shape it takes. Debate continues on both sides.