Lancashire 'never been nearer' to having a mayor

Leaders in Lancashire say the county has "never been nearer" to having a mayor, after the government confirmed it was one of 10 areas in the final stages of a new devolution agreement.

A devolution deal for Lancashire was first agreed in 2023, but it did not involve a mayor at that time, with a combined authority launched in 2025.

Phil Riley, the Labour leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the government go-ahead was "a good thing", which would put Lancashire on a par with Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region.

Stephen Atkinson, Reform leader of Lancashire County Council, also welcomed the move but called for more details: "We need to see it in black and white," he said.

As part of the Budget - announced on Wednesday - the government said it was in the final stages of agreeing 10 new devolution agreements, including Lancashire.

"The converse of having a mayor, would be that Lancashire will be the only place in the north of England that doesn't have a mayor," Riley told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's not the right place to be.

"All the direction of travel of government - not just Labour, but previously the Conservatives - all the direction of travel has been about devolution."

Lynn Williams, Labour leader of Blackpool Council, agreed a mayor for Lancashire was something the area "should be ambitious about".

However, Reform's Atkinson stressed the county had two red lines in terms of agreeing a deal - capacity funding and a guarantee that any investment would be greater than the cost entailed.

"We don't have the details," he warned. "We've got the vibe, we've got the mood music - but we need to see it in black and white."

Nonetheless, he acknowledged, "the sound is much better than where we've been".

Shoppers at Ormskirk Market had mixed views on the plans.

"I'm open-minded, but I'm not really sure," one man told BBC Politics North West.

"It might end up like the police commissioners, where it was a big waste of money in the end," he cautioned.

Another, who said he lived in a more rural area, felt mayors were better suited to cities, but other shoppers viewed the move in a more positive light, highlighting how mayors had been beneficial in the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester.

"It's not done Liverpool any harm - and it's done Manchester a lot better," said one trader.

"It's nice to have somebody represent the place," another shopper added.

However, one woman, who said she had lived in Ormskirk all her life, felt there were "enough people at the top" already.

Lancashire had also been set to undergo local government reorganisation, which would have seen the county council and 14 district councils and unitary authorities replaced with four new unitary authorities.

But the shake-up of local government - which would have impacted 14 areas across the country - was put on hold by the government in September.

Local government minister Jim McMahon has now confirmed only five of the original proposals will go ahead - not including Lancashire.

In a letter to the leaders in the nine areas where the plans have been withdrawn, McMahon said the decision was "not a reflection of the quality of the proposals submitted by councils in your area, but rather the need to give each decision of such significance the careful consideration it deserves".

"All options and proposals in your area will remain under consideration as part of the review," he said.

Atkinson said the government was trying to do too much simultaneously and needed to be clearer about its aims.

He said trying to implement devolution was "a big ask on its own".

"If it's trying to reorganise local government at the same time that puts a real strain on the capacity, because many of the officers that will be working on devolution will be working on local government reorganisation," he said.

"If devolution is what they really care about, they're not helping devolution by trying to do these two things at the same time."

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