On Monday, we saw the announcement of Labour’s plans for English local Government reorganisation, under the title of English Devolution.
There were three elements to the announcement – a speech by Angela Raynor, the publication of the white paper (and accompanying statement in the House of Commons), and a letter from the Secretary of State Jim McMahon to council leaders. The announcement was long on rhetoric and, in many places, short on detail. The greatest clarity was probably found in the letter to council leaders.
The headlines are that the government wants to see regional mayors across England. They are pressing ahead with two mayoral deals (and four devolution deals where there isn’t a mayor). The rest of the country will be subject to deals, and the government is happy to impose these if required. The aim is for this to happen within this parliament.
On local government, the announcement signalled the end of the two-tier system in those parts of England where it remains. However, this will not be done as one big bang but brought in over a couple of years. The government’s stated preference is for areas to agree amongst themselves and come forward with plans for local re-organisation. There is a specific statement that there should not be competing proposals.
New Unitary Authorities
The new unitary authorities will have a population of 500,000 or over, other than in exceptional cases.
Specific mention is made of reorganisation including smaller unitaries, specifically where ‘there is evidence of failure, or where their size or boundaries may hinder an ability to deliver’. No further detail on what this means is given.
Priority areas
Some areas, for which there are currently plans for a mayor, or are ready to come together ‘under sensible geography’, will be in a Devolution Priority Programme, with mayoral elections scheduled for May 2026.
Mayors will sit alongside strategic authorities and have new powers, including being able to call in planning applications.
The areas covered by a strategic authority and mayor will have a population of 1.5 million or over.
Elections in May 2025
In his letter to council leaders, the Secretary of State talks about legislation to postpone elections from May 2025 to May 2026. This will be from councils in the Devolution Priority Programme or ones where ‘reorganisation is needed to unlock devolution’ (the latter is not further defined).
The date for deciding which councils would be in this cohort is January 2025. Our view, on current evidence, is that few elections will be postponed, and only in two-tier counties.
The advice from ALDC is very clear – assume your elections are going ahead and keep campaigning. Put out Christmas cards and calendars, and any New Year literature. Canvassing is always helpful, and the beginning of January is a good time to make an impact on the doorstep.
The immediate timetable is:
January 2025 – Announcement of Devolution Priority Programme areas
10 January 2025 – Requests for postponement of May 2025 elections by upper tier authorities with a clear commitment to devolution and reorganisation
March 2025 – Interim plans for reorganisation in two tier areas and neighbouring small unitaries.
May 2025 – Proposals from areas in which elections have been postponed because reorganisation is needed to unlock devolution
August 2025 – Proposals from areas in which May 2025 elections take place
May 2026 – Elections for first new regional mayors
April 2027 and April 2028 – Phased implementation of new unitary councils
Parish, Town and Community Councils
One area that isn’t covered but is important to us as a party is the town, parish and community council network. These are already growing in number and importance. In areas which become unitary, we should advocate for new town and parish councils to be created where they are currently absent.
Some of these town councils will be large and capable of delivering significant benefit for their areas. Liberal Democrats should be at the forefront of this. They can fill an accountability gap and provide a good link to local people.
The process of creating the new councils should start now. The process takes time and will require discussion over boundaries and structures. We do not want to wait for the new authorities to be set up before creating them – they need to be in place by the time reorganisation happens. Once a shadow authority for a new unitary council is created it has a veto over asset transfers.
Federal Conference
Working with the LGA, ALDC will submit a motion on local government reorganisation to the Federal Spring Conference.
ALDC recommends that we:-
- Keep campaigning. Our best chance of having influence on the future shape of local government is to do well in forthcoming elections and win as many seats as possible.
- In areas where we run or are influential in two tier authorities, seek to work with other authorities to propose the best solution for your area.
- Plan for more town and parish councils. Many of these may be large and have considerable money. Within the reorganisation process, we should work to create new town councils in areas district councils are disappearing. The process of doing this can start now.
- Select and put forward Liberal Democrat candidates for town councils – don’t be trapped into spurious arguments about making them ‘non-political’.
The full white paper can be read below: