Regional mayors can now request powers, funding and partnerships from Westminster, which the Government presents as a devolution revolution. The revolution has a formal route, a legal response period of six months and, one suspects, a committee deciding whether the request for revolution has been completed in the correct font.
A Government announcement published on 5 June 2026 described agreements involving flood resilience and water management in South Yorkshire, support for young children in the West Midlands, youth justice in Greater Manchester, technology and public services in Liverpool City Region, and local priorities for arts funding in the North East. West Yorkshire’s request also led to established mayors gaining control over local innovation funding. Britain has discovered a bold new way to move power out of Westminster by asking Westminster to approve the movement.
The scheme gives mayors a formal route to request new controls, funds and partnerships. The Government must respond within six months, which is impressively quick when compared with the lifespan of a national strategy and almost instantaneous if the request concerns a biscuit. Somewhere in Whitehall, a calendar has been assigned to monitor local ambition and is waiting for a ministerial note explaining whether ambition should be filed under regional growth or refreshments.
The principle is sensible. People who know their areas best may be better placed to shape flood protection, children’s support and public technology. Yet every local solution still appears to require a central process capable of turning a clear need into a request, a request into a meeting and a meeting into a further request for clarification. Devolution has not removed the maze. It has given each mayor a map and asked them to return it in triplicate.
Mayors are therefore in the driving seat, although the seat remains attached to a vehicle whose keys are held by a department that promises to locate them within six months. The Government calls this a transfer of power. The roundtable calls it a local biscuit strategy, with every region invited to request its own while Whitehall retains the authority to approve the plate, inspect the crumb and announce that the snack has been devolved.
Source: GOV.UK.
