Crunch meeting over Lancashire mayor amid government 'backtrack'

Stephen Atkinson, the new Reform UK leader of Lancashire County Council, has called for “legally binding” public votes on both of the politically contentious issues.

He will meet local government minister Jim McMahon on Thursday to discuss the demand, which he has already formally set out in a letter to Whitehall.

Speaking specifically about the mayoral question, County Cllr Atkinson told a meeting of Lancashire’s Combined County Authority (CCA) that the position “should become clear” after the talks.

He said Reform’s “ideal” outcome was for there to be a referendum as the preferred mechanism by which to undertake “a wide consultation”.

Irrespective of whether it permits a vote on the subject, the government appears to have rowed back on a plan to impose an Andy Burnham-style elected mayor on Lancashire without at least some form of political agreement on the subject.

The apparent reversal is revealed in a letter to Lancashire’s 15 local authorities from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

The correspondence, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), offers ministerial feedback on the county’s initial thoughts about a government-ordered shake up which would see all of its councils abolished and replaced with a handful of new ones – the other issue on which County Cllr Atkinson wants a referendum.

It suggests the development of any concrete proposals to give effect to that overhaul might also consider “whether Lancashire CCA adopts a mayor”.

The presentation of the mayoral post as being a matter of choice for the county contradicts comments made by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in February when she told the Convention of the North, staged in Preston, that “by May 2026, the whole of the North will have mayors”.

That announcement was itself a deviation from what the signatories of Lancashire’s devolution deal were told last year, when Jim McMahon said they should bring forward proposals by this autumn for “deeper and wider devolution”, having considered “all governance models” in the process.

While the government has made no secret of its preference for mayors, that request did at least leave the ball in Lancashire’s court – a stance which seems to have been resurrected judging by the contents of the feedback letter on local government reorganisation.

MHCLG did not directly answer a question from the LDRS as to whether Lancashire would be free to choose for itself whether or not to install a mayor, but did point to the governance review initiated by Jim McMahon – rather than to Angela Rayner’s more categorical declaration.

At the CCA meeting, Chorley Council leader Alistair Bradley, representing the county’s 12 district authorities, questioned whether that the review – and the move towards deepening Lancashire’s deal in the pursuit of more powers and cash – was being driven into the long grass by Reform politicking.

“I’m just concerned that things are being slowed down …[and] we’re not getting any clarity,” he said, noting that the next opportunity for the CCA to discuss the matter was in September, by which point the government’s autumn deadline would be looming.

“It’s all concertinaing a bit – and I hope it’s not being slowed down as a result of political will as opposed to anything else,” added Cllr Bradley.

County Cllr Atkinson – a longstanding opponent of an elected mayor – rejected the suggestion politics was at play with the timetable.

“This is an open and honest position where everyone’s working together – and we will continue with that,” he insisted.

The gathering of the CCA – the body established to oversee Lancashire’s current devolution arrangements – was the first since Reform took control of Lancashire County Council after last month’s elections.

It is now chaired by County Cllr Atkinson, who has replaced deposed Tory county leader Phillippa Williamson at the helm of the group. He is joined by new deputy county council leader Simon Evans in order to maintain the two votes the local authority has on the CCA.

Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen’s Labour leaders, Lynn Williams and Phil Riley, continue in their positions – with Cllr Riley being deputy chair of the CCA – and complete the voting line-up.

Cllr Bradley and Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent sit as ‘non-constituent’ members, representing Lancashire’s dozen districts, but do not have voting rights.

The devolution deal was signed last year by the leaders of Lancashire County Council and Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils.

While the trio all concurred that the agreement was just the start of a devolution journey, County Cllr Williamson never declared one way or the other over whether her then Tory-led authority would ultimately accept a mayor – noting simply that there was no consensus between all 15 leaders on the issue.

One of those leaders – County Cllr Atkinson – is now her successor, but was, at the time, the Conservative leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, before stepping down from that post and defecting to Reform in March.