Rural areas may get elected mayors
Rural communities could get their own directly elected mayors so they can fight for their fair share of government money, in a major “rewiring of the state” next month. Communities could also be allowed to scrap metropolitan names imposed on them in a 1974 shake-up of local government and revert to historic county titles. The changes are being considered for a white paper which ministers hope will help to “level up” the way public spending is allocated.
RURAL communities could get their own directly elected mayors so they can fight for their fair share of government money, in a major “rewiring of the state” next month.
Communities could also be allowed to scrap metropolitan names imposed on them in a 1974 shake-up of local government and revert to historic county titles, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The changes are being considered for a Government White Paper which ministers hope will help to “level up” the way public spending is allocated.
One proposal considered by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is for shire counties to be allowed to elect their own mayors to lobby Whitehall for more cash. Ministers hope up to 30 local mayors will become champions for their rural areas.
Other measures could see communities allowed to seek permission to restore historic county names.
The changes come as part of government plans to “level up” and decentralise how public money is spent.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor and MP for Richmond in Yorkshire, is understood to be supportive of the plans.
One senior source said: “Levelling up is not just about helping inner Liverpool. We are going to end the obsession of just devolving power and money to the big cities, which is really important.”
Local communities could also seek to scrap modern municipal area names to give people a better sense of the history of where they live, under the plans. Another Government insider said: “We want to extend devolution to the whole country so that all areas benefit from this. It should not just be the big urban areas; it should be shires too, working closely with local areas to establish solutions to local government reform.”
Campaigners who have been urging the Government to reinstate historic county names welcomed the news. Pam Moorhouse, the British Counties campaign, said: “Traditional county names were taken off us by Edward Heath in 1974, so it is about time they came back because millions want them.”
Under the changes, the West Midlands could revert to Warwickshire, Cumbria could be replaced by Cumberland and Westmorland, while Merseyside could be scrapped and replaced by a larger Lancashire.
Tory MP Henry Smith who has been backing the campaign, welcomed the idea: “The idea that in local government legislation that communities can regain the traditional names that they have known and loved and – despite half a century of government reorganisation – have clung to in terms of identity, is to be welcomed.”
The plans emerged after ministers drafted new guidance for English local authorities on promoting their traditional county links by flying county flags and putting up signs to indicate where historic municipal boundaries lay.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “We want to devolve and decentralise to give more power to local communities, providing opportunities for all areas to enjoy devolution.
“But there will be no blanket abolishment of district councils and no top-down restructuring of local government. The devolution White Paper, which will be published this autumn, will set out our detailed plans and we continue to work closely with local areas to establish solutions to local government reform.”
‘We want to give more power to local communities, providing opportunities for all to enjoy devolution’