Councils have urged for the devolution deal agreed with the last government to be revisited
Five Lancashire district council leaders have called for the county’s devolution deal to be renegotiated with the new government – with two of them also pushing for an elected mayor in order to strengthen the agreement.
However, even those leaders united in their opposition to the present agreement are not necessarily on the same page as to whether it should now be implemented and then amended – or consigned to history and the process started again from scratch. Preston City Council leader Matthew Brown told the LDRS that it was a choice that will “have to be considered” – while the Chorley, West Lancashire and Hyndburn leaders all suggested the deal should be scrapped outright.
However, he was resolute that the agreement as it stands should be ditched and discussions between all 15 Lancashire leaders and the government reopened. Much of the dissatisfaction of Labour-run district councils with Lancashire’s provisional devolution deal stemmed not only from what they regarded as its limited scope, but also their lack of involvement in negotiating it – and what they felt was going to be their barely perceptible role in putting it into practice.
“The government needs to ask Lancashire what wants – and to accept that you won’t get universal agreement. Then it should have the courage of its convictions and go with the majority and with what most people will accept – not what everybody wants. You will end up with a far better deal and, to me, a far better deal looks more like something Greater Manchester and Liverpool have got than the Lancashire agreement – which is the cheap, budget, poor-quality option,” Cllr Bradley said.
Rossendale Council leader Alyson Barnes said that the change of government “presents a good opportunity to renegotiate the Lancashire deal and for the deal to be more inclusive of district councils and far more ambitious in its range and scope”. “We need to offer the people of Lancashire the same opportunities as elsewhere,” Cllr Barnes said.
Blackpool Council Lancaster City Council West Lancashire Borough Council Preston City Council Chorley Council South Ribble Borough Council Blackburn With Darwen Council
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Scotland's Better Together councils – here's where Labour and Tories team upTHE ever-narrowing gap between Labour and the Tories has once again been exposed by The National with new footage showing one of Keir Starmer’s…
Read more »
Labour to block ‘Nimby’ councils from halting new homes on green beltIf Labour wins, Angela Rayner would unveil a radical new housebuilding programme within days, underlining Starmer's priorities for government
Read more »
The Lancashire constituency with no Labour, Conservative or Lib Dem candidateThe main political parties are not fielding a candidate in Chorley for the general election 2024 on July 4
Read more »
The Lancashire town where no Labour, Conservative or Lib Dems are standingThere will be no candidates standing from any of the major parties in Chorley at the general election on July 4
Read more »
General election 2024 results as Labour make huge gains across LancashireOn a bruising night for the Tories, Labour reached the 326 seats needed to win a majority
Read more »
General Election round-up as Labour win key Lancashire seats in landslide victorySir Keir Starmer will be the UK’s new Labour prime minister after his party won a landslide victory - including a near Lancashire-wide rout of the Tories.
Read more »