AN East Lancashire local authority will hold a full council meeting tonight (Tuesday) to discuss its attitude to devolution in the county and whether it should have a powerful elected Mayor following Labour's July 4 General Election victory.

Burnley's Labour group leader Cllr Mark Townsend called the extraordinary session to debate a motion he has proposed to the county combined authority agreed by the upper-tier councils Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire County and Blackpool in November.

The meeting will also discuss the other motions on Padiham flood defences, Islamophobia and winter fuel payments.

Cllr Townsend's resolution says that Burnley Council should 'work with government and Lancashire council leaders to submit an ambitious devolution proposal with strong, accountable and inclusive governance for the whole county by the end of September'.

His motion also calls on the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, and the new government 'to legislate so that a devolution deal, that may or may not include a directly elected Mayor for Lancashire, can be approved by a simple majority of the 15 Lancashire councils'.

Conservative finance spokesman Cllr Jamie McGowan has put forward a motion which says: "This council is shocked to see the cost of the Padiham Flood Defences more than double, from a figure of £18million in 2020 to over £36m today.

"Regardless of why the costs have increased so dramatically it’s imperative that they are built in full."

Borough leader Cllr Afrasiab Anwar has tabled a motion which says he and the council's chief executive Lukman Patel should 'write to government ministers, urging them to: 'listen to Muslim communities and the cross-party group of MPs and peers, adopt the definition of Islamophobia that classifies discrimination against Muslims as a form of racism and take action against social media companies to stop the spread of hate and misinformation."

The motion, referring to the recent riots, says: "It is crucial to address Islamophobia effectively, as prejudice against Muslims is being freely shared, making them targets for physical, verbal, and online abuse.

"Council condemns the completely unacceptable desecration of Muslim graves in Burnley cemetery, which caused tension, anxiety and hurt across our communities."

The fourth motion proposed by Tory Cllr Don Whitaker says: "The new Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer's recent announcement to cut the Winter Fuel Payment this winter, with virtually no notice and no compensatory measures to protect poor and vulnerable pensioners, is the wrong policy decision.

"Many pensioners here in Burnley will now find paying their energy bills a real stretch and will be terribly hit by this cut."