Esther McVey MP who opposes devolution plans for Cheshire and Warrington has welcomed the ‘common sense’ move by councils calling for it to be delayed.
She believes plans for a combined authority for Cheshire and Warrington led by an elected mayor are a waste of money and will do little but create more bureaucracy and allow buck-passing of responsibility.
She has been lobbying government and local councils to think again since the devolution was first mooted.
Labour-led councils Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Warrington all support the move but have now issued a joint statement calling for a pause saying holding the vote on the same day as the local elections in 2027 will save money.
Ms McVey said: “What would save more money is scrapping it all together and instead focusing on delivering for residents. Extra layers of government are never the answer - if anyone thinks extra bureaucracy, extra cost and more politicians is the solution - then they’re asking the wrong question.”
“The councils claim they have listened to the concerns of residents and now believe plans should be delayed for a year to coincide with the May 2027 elections. What I am being told by my constituents is that this is not wanted. That’s why I have been lobbying government to scrap the plans. What local people want is for councils to deliver services not for more money to be wasted on more bureaucracy.”
Government is keen to push ahead with devolution in the area despite the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government issuing Cheshire East Council and Warrington with a Best Value Notice, a formal warning it must improve. It has sent ministerial envoys into both council at huge costs to the taxpayer to try and improve running at the organisations.
If devolution goes ahead the three councils would remain and run their own services, but the new authority would manage additional budgets, money that is currently allocated directly from Whitehall.
Ms McVey said: “It is ludicrous that we are even still talking about devolution when two of the three councils are needing help to run their organisations. We must remember Warrington Borough Council is bankrupt and Cheshire East is heading that way. The only focus should be sorting these councils out not adding another tier of government.
“While the councils will remain, devolution will inevitably see some level of cross over given someone senior from each council will sit on the new board so any arguments it is a new body and independent from the failings is not true. Nothing good can come from this.”
Since the statement from the councillors, Ms McVey has written again to the Department for Communities and Local Government asking them to put the brakes on any devolution proposals for the area.
She believes if devolution went ahead, smaller towns and villages would miss out to bigger city centres.