Lancashire mayor moves a step closer - and new devolved county authority is born

The government has said proposals for the next stage of Lancashire devolution will be considered alongside those from six other areas seeking to install mayoral figureheads as soon as May 2026.

However, it is unclear whether Lancashire could meet that timetable, because of a pre-existing agreement it has with ministers which puts it out of step with the process being followed elsewhere.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands Labour MPs keen to see a mayor in place as soon as possible have been told by ministers it is doable – and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said in the Commons on Wednesday she was “hopeful” the powerful politician, akin to Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, would take up their post in the county next year.

But local government sources have offered competing assessments about the likelihood of Lancashire being in that position – should it even opt to go down the mayoral route.

>» EXPLAINED: What a Lancashire mayor would mean for the county

Ms. Rayner also confirmed that the new Lancashire Combined County Authority (CCA) – created to oversee the implementation of the county’s existing devolved powers – had officially been launched. The organisation has been operating in shadow form since November, but is now fully-fledged and will hold its first meeting on 11th March.

That milestone moment marks the culmination of a near nine-year journey since Lancashire took its first tentative steps along the devolution path when it began to work towards doing a deal with the government.

After a flurry of false dawns, disagreements and dead ends, an agreement was finally struck with the then Conservative administration in November 2023, but ended up amongst Parliament’s unfinished business ahead of last summer’s snap election.

In September last year, the new Labour government ultimately agreed to honour the so-called ‘level 2’ deal, which, crucially, did not require an elected mayor – a prospect that had been a perennial sticking point in devolution discussions between Lancashire council leaders down the years.

However, local government minister Jim McMahon set out an expectation for the county to bring forward proposals for “deeper and wider devolution” by autumn 2025 – having explored the necessary “governance models” to go with them.

The unspoken suggestion was that Lancashire would set out an ambition to step up to a ‘level 3’ deal – acquiring the extra powers and cash that such a move would bring – and accept the mayor that some corners of the county have resisted for so long.

When the government published its devolution white paper just before Christmas, Lancashire’s autumnal timetable for upgrading its deal seemed to put a question mark over whether the county could join the “priority programme” – places on which were being offered to those areas that wanted to have a mayor in post by May 2026.

While setting out the government’s preference for mayors in every part of the country, the document also made clear that mayors would not be imposed on places that did not want them – giving Lancashire plenty to think about during 2025 ahead of its autumn deadline.

Angela Rayner’s Commons statement on Wednesday acknowledged that, unlike the six areas announced as being on the fast-track to getting mayor next year Lancashire was “already deciding its mayoral devolution options”.

“We will look at its proposals in the autumn in parallel with the priority programme,” said the Deputy PM, who is also the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

"While devolution can sound techie, the outcome is simple – it is a plan for putting more money in people’s pockets...for quicker, better, cheaper transport, designed with local people in mind, and a plan for putting politics back in the service of working people,” she added.

The linking of Lancashire to the mayoral fast-track was welcomed by South Ribble MP Paul Foster – one of 10 Lancashire Labour MPs to sign a letter to the government late last year calling for the county to get a mayor by 2026.

He told the LDRS after Ms. Rayner’s statement he was now “excited about the prospect of mayoral elections next year”.

Meanwhile, Blackpool South’s Labour MP Chris Webb, said he wanted to ”urge the leaders of Lancashire to seize this opportunity and actively participate in the priority programme by electing a Lancashire mayor in 2026”.

“This pivotal step will empower our county, placing us on the council of nations and regions, and unlocking billions [in] investment we desperately need.

“Let’s be bold and ambitious, ensuring that Lancashire can compete with our vibrant neighbours, Manchester and Liverpool,” Mr. Webb said.

What happens next?

Ultimately, it is the new CCA – made up of devo deal signatories Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council – that will draw up the devolution-deepening proposals to be put to the government later in 2025.

The LDRS understands that while the government’s public statements referencing an “autumn” timeframe are open to interpretation, the exact deadline by which submissions must be made is November. That would then leave just six months to prepare for Lancashire’s inaugural mayoral elections.

One well-placed local government source in the county has suggested such a timetable would be too tight – not least because any move to create an elected mayor, whatever political agreement there may be, would require an eight-week period of public consultation.

They also claimed the November deadline was merely for Lancashire to advise the government whether it wanted to join the priority programme or not – rather than for having developed a fully-formed proposal.

However, a source equally close to the situation says there is a strong expectation that as soon as the county council elections are over in early May, council officers will be tasked by their political masters with doing whatever it takes to ensure Lancashire is ready to become the seventh place to hold mayoral elections in May 2026.

The LDRS understands the government considers converting Lancashire’s current deal to a mayoral set-up will be a less onerous task than drawing up devolution agreements from scratch with the other six areas on the priority programme. Unlike Lancashire, those places do not already have structures like a CCA in operation.

One crucial caveat to any assessment of what may happen next is that a lot could hinge on the outcome of the county council poll in just three months’ time.

County Hall’s current Conservative administration opted not to seek permission to scrap the vote in preparation for a forthcoming – non-negotiable – shake-up of local government which will see the abolition of all of Lancashire’s 15 councils and their replacement with up to four new authorities.

While the Tories have not indicated that they would pursue a mayoral model for devolution, county council leader Phillippa Williamson has repeatedly committed to adhering to the government’s autumn deadline for fresh proposals. Opposition Labour group leader Matthew Tomlinson has previously said his group wants “the maximum amount of devolution that we can get” – and so will accept the conditions that come with it.

The Labour leaders of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils – Lynn Williams and Phil Riley – both said just last month they expect Lancashire to join the devolution priority programme later this year.

There is less certainty, however, about how a hung county council – if no single party were in overall control after the vote on 1st May – would feed into what will likely be complex and politically charged discussions about a mayor, against a backdrop of huge impending changes at every layer of local government in Lancashire.

‘It’s been a long haul – but we’ve arrived’

While discussions about the next stage of Lancashire devolution abound, its first long-awaited phase is finally under way with the official formation of the new Combined County Authority (CCA).

The body will oversee the powers and cash coming to the county as part of its level 2 deal – chiefly, a £20m fund for innovation-led growth, control of the adult education budget and extra transport and regeneration powers.

The leader and deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and the leaders of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils will sit on the CCA as full members – each with voting rights.

The county’s dozen district authorities are represented by the leaders of Chorley and Ribble Valley councils, Alastair Bradley and Stephen Atkinson – but they have only ‘non-constituent’ member status and so cannot vote. The business sector is also represented by the chair of the Lancashire Business Board, Mo Isap.

County Cllr Phillippa Williamson, Lancashire County Council leader, said she was “delighted that after all our hard work, the CCA is now an entity in its own right”.

She added: “This is a hugely significant achievement for our county, but it is also just our first step in bringing more powers to Lancashire to benefit both our residents and businesses.

“We really want to make a difference to the lives of people who live and work here, and we are definitely best placed to make the important decisions that matter to our county.”

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said the formation of the CCA was a “historic moment for the county and for Blackpool”.

“It’s hugely important that we have made it this far and are now recognised officially as a Combined County Authority.

“For our residents, it means we can make more decisions about local issues locally and we have already seen some investment in Blackpool as a result of this.

“I very much look forward to working as a new CCA and deepening devolution further to bring more powers and investment to our communities,” Cllr Williams added.

Meanwhile, Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Phil Riley acknowledged that bringing devolution to Lancashire had been “a long haul”.

“But this final step is evidence of the ability of the three major councils to work together for the betterment of the whole of Lancashire,” he said.

“This is an important first step that sees a number of powers and the associated money brought nearer to the local people and businesses that they affect the most.”