County Hall in Preston. Pic: Blog Preston The government is keen to see Lancashire get an elected mayor as part of any devolution deal. That was the mess
Revealed: The cost of Preston Guild Hall standing empty and the path to re-opening‘Bully boy tactics’ leave popular Preston burger restaurant just the latest to be smashed outThat was the message one of the county’s MPs said he got after meeting with a minister to discuss the next steps for a settlement, after the provisional agreement with the previous Conservative administration was left in limbo by Labour’s victory at the general election.
The creation of an elected mayor would entitle Lancashire to the highest of three ‘levels’ of possible devolution deal. However, the prospect of an all-powerful individual to oversee the extra cash and responsibility that would come with such an agreement has divided the county’s 15 local authorities for the eight years that they have been struggling to reach a consensus over devolution – both with each other and the government of the day.
“We only had to look at those images of the metro mayors, from all political parties, going into number 10 and meeting the Prime Minister – and what was starkly evident was that Lancashire had no voice at that table. We can’t keep being left behind.” Since the election, the top-tier-trio of Lancashire councils have said they first want to see the deal they negotiated implemented – before discussing any enhancements that may be on offer.
“This would just be the start of our devolution journey and we would be looking to continue to build on these foundations with further deals, just as Manchester and Liverpool have done,” County Cllr Willaimson added.The new government has hinted at a greater role for district councils in delivering devolution in county areas like Lancashire.
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