Lancashire devolution deal WILL go ahead as Angela Rayner paves the way for elected mayor for county

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner during a visit to a housing development in South Ribble last year
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Lancashire's controversial devolution deal WILL go ahead, it can be revealed today.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner this morning hailed Lancashire's "untapped potential" as she announced the Government will press ahead with the county's oven-ready devo deal. The agreement - inked last year by the leaders of Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council - has no provision for an elected mayor for the county.

However, Rayner insisted this was just the "first step" - as the Government pushes the region towards the preferred "gold standard" of mayoral devolution at a later date. The changing of the political guard at Westminster earlier this year sparked a sustained attempt by Lancashire’s Labour MPs and the majority of the county’s district authorities - including Preston and Chorley - to have the deal ripped up and renegotiated.

READ MORE: As Lancashire devolution deal hangs in the balance questions remain over the elected mayor conundrum

But the Government has now said that it will sign off on the deal currently on the table - under which Lancashire will be handed power over policy areas including adult education and regeneration, along with a one-off £20m fund to help boost "innovation-led growth".

Ms Rayner said: "I'm delighted that we've been able to mark another moment in Lancashire's rich history by agreeing the first steps of its devolution journey. This agreement will empower local leaders to make key decisions locally, and ensure they have a say on how to shape the future of their area instead of having it imposed on them from Westminster. We want to work closely with them to unlock this area’s untapped potential, and keep the red rose of Lancashire blooming proudly."

It means a new combined county authority (CCA) will be established to oversee Lancashire’s additional responsibilities, subject to the set-up being approved by Parliament. The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the CCA could hold its inaugural meeting as soon as January.

It marks the end of more than eight years of torturous – and often tortuous – negotiations about how devolution could be brought to the county. Lancashire's 15 council leaders have more often than not failed to agree amongst themselves on the shape of any deal – and that is before the ever-shifting devolution demands of successive governments, whether in relation to a mayor or the streamlining of the local authority map, have been factored in.

That debate has raged while Lancashire has become something of an island in the North of England - left without a deal long after most of its nearest neighbours have started to feel the benefit of more local decision-making. Notwithstanding the now imminent implementation of the agreement signed last November, Lancashire is unlikely to have seen its last political wrangles over devolution.

In announcing its decision to push the current deal over the line, the government is nevertheless encouraging Lancashire to move towards what it describes as the “gold standard” of mayoral devolution at a later date.

Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson described the moment as a "very significant step forward" in Lancs' devolution journey.

She added: "We know our county is already a brilliant place to live and work, but we also know that we can be even better if we are able to make more decisions locally, this is just the start and we are committed to exploring how we can go further."

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said she was looking forward to being able to implement plans for the county "that will benefit residents across the whole of Lancashire and not least here in Blackpool".

“It is really important that decisions that affect our residents here in Lancashire are made at a local level,” Cllr Williams said.

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