A council leader has warned against trying to renegotiate Lancashire’s devolution deal now Labour is in government.
Stephen Atkinson, who leads Tory-controlled Ribble Valley Council, says attempting to change the agreement – struck with the Conservatives last year – would likely result in having to go back to square one in the process.
Labour leaders of Hyndburn and Rossendale Council have signalled the ‘devo’ deal should be re-examined. The General election result has threatened to reopen old divisions in Lancashire over devolution, amid question marks over whether Labour will implement the deal as it stands or amend it.
Cllr Atkinson said: “The current deal took a lot of time and effort to be negotiated – we would lose too much time and have to start again.”
Sir Keir Starmer reaffirmed his government’s commitment to an English devolution bill in the King’s speech “to give new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities”.
No detail was given of any implications of the forthcoming legislation for the Lancs deal, which had been poised to go before Parliament for final approval before the snap election was called.
As revealed last week, no decision has yet been taken by the new government on the matter – including whether any changes would involve the creation of an elected mayor for the county.
That issue has generally divided Lancashire districts down party lines during the eight years of attempts to secure a devolution deal, with Labour-run councils broadly being more in favour than Tory-led authorities.
Only last week, Labour district leaders said they supported the idea of a Lancashire mayor to improve what they regard as an underwhelming devolution agreement reached last year.
Ex-leader of South Ribble Council, Paul Foster – now the South Ribble MP – has also said he will continue to push for the creation of a mayor from his new parliamentary position.
But the leaders of Conservative-run Lancashire County Council and Labour councils in Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen – the top tier authorities which signed the devo deal, indicated they want to see the agreement implemented in its current form, before it is built upon in any way.
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