In December 2024, when the Labour government published its English devolution white paper, Angela Rayner, then still Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, introduced its plans.
She said the government would “change our politics, so that decisions are made with communities, not done to them”, adding: “That’s what it means to take back control, and that’s what we will deliver.”
The white paper heralded the creation of new regional strategic authorities but said much less about the new unitary local authorities slated to sit underneath them with which the government intends to replace the 63 district and county councils in the country’s 21 remaining two-tier areas.
A letter sent the same day by Jim McMahon, then local government minister, to the leaders of the remaining two-tier area councils did little more than outline the next steps in the local government reorganisation process which would lead to their abolition.
What his letter did say was that the government would be willing to postpone the May 2025 local elections for twelve months, but only where doing so would expedite the creation of the new system at both strategic and unitary levels at the same time.
It did not say, however, that the government would postpone or cancel elections in 2026, either in such priority “fast-track” areas or elsewhere.
James McInnes, then Conservative leader of Devon County Council, applied to join the fast-track programme despite Devon falling short of the eligibility criteria set out in the white paper. He also asked the government to postpone the May 2025 Devon County Council elections, which would have meant the extension of his term of office by twelve months.
The leaders of Devon’s eight district councils, including Phil Bialyk, Labour leader of Exeter City Council, published a joint statement opposing the county council’s plans.
Did Angela Raynor hear the cries for help from her Exeter party colleague? On 5 February she announced that Devon would not be included in the fast-track programme and the May 2025 Devon County Council elections would go ahead as planned.
In the event the Conservatives suffered a rout, losing 33 of 40 seats, Labour was wiped out completely and the Liberal Democrats took control of County Hall despite a Reform UK surge.
