How will Labour’s plans for devolution actually work?

Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and still the darling of her party, is a restless woman. It will force many smaller district councils into larger units, and encourage existing historic counties such as Essex, Kent and Norfolk to combine and create larger territories overseen by powerful “metro mayors”. Rayner says: “Our English Devolution white paper will be a turning point when we finally see communities, people and places across England begin to take back control over the things that matter to them; when our proud towns and cities are once again given the powers they need to drive growth and raise living standards as part of our plan for change.” At a time when many local councils fear bankruptcy, it’s fair to say there’s some doubt about that. As the government’s briefing paper puts it: “Greater devolution is a key way to kickstart economic growth, put more money in people’s pockets, and put politics back in the service of working people.” Will it? It scrapped many historic smaller counties and old city councils, and merged them into larger combined city-plus-county authorities, and, in the UK’s major conurbations, new metropolitan “regional” authorities, such as Merseyside, Strathclyde, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.