Reorganisation, local government and the future of English Devolution – Other Ideas
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Other Ideas is a new series of essays published by Localis, featuring perspectives from our team, our research fellows and the wider local government family.
The English Devolution white paper, published in December 2024, set in motion a chain of events raising a series of fundamental questions about the arguments underpinning it.
In this short report from Emeritus Professors of local government, Colin Copus and Steve Leach, some major issues of concern are identified, including:
- those which raise the constitutional issues in the white paper;
- a lack of substance and justification regarding the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) elements of the white paper and its tenuous connection with devolution;
- the inconsistencies in the potential impact of the white paper throughout England;
- the discrepancies between England and other European countries in relation to the size, composition and justification for local authorities;
- and, how Whitehall’s long-term policy agenda, rarely explicit, has consistently sought opportunities for reorganisation.
Professors Copus and Leach provide a thorough analysis of the short and long-term history of English local government reform, placing the new drive for unitary authorities in this context. According to their calculations, if new unitary authorities in two-tier areas have populations of half-a-million then councillor numbers will decrease from around 12,000 to 1,200, placing considerable strains and unsustainable workloads on remaining councillors.
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