– Move led by No10 comes with promises of devolution
– White paper out before Christmas
– May elections go ahead. New mayors in place as soon as 2026
– Gov sources insist only willing areas participate
– Some say democratic accountability at stakehttps://t.co/7WFMlbvGjz

— Max Kendix (@MaxKendix) November 24, 2024

It is a personal bugbear of mine that there are too many councils and there should be more unitary councils, thankfully Sir Keir Starmer is listening to me with the biggest local government reform since Ted Heath was Prime Minister. The Times are reporting that

Dozens of councils will be abolished in the biggest overhaul of local government in more than 50 years under plans being drawn up by ministers.

Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire will be among the counties set for radical changes to the way they are run, with the promise of more powers and money from Whitehall. Norfolk and Suffolk will also be restructured, with their district councils being abolished and merged into new unitary authorities.

There are 21 county councils across England, with 164 district councils sitting below them. County councils have powers including over transport and social care, while district councils are responsible for rubbish collection and day-to-day planning permission.

Ministers are thought to believe that two-tier local government structures are inefficient and have blamed district councils for building up cash reserves rather than spending the money on improving public services. District councils are also seen as blockers to growth by regularly rejecting housing developments.

Government sources said that they had consulted “extensively” with councils over the changes and were only working with areas that proactively supported the reforms.

TSE