County council to pull out of devolution and local government reorganisation deal after elections u-turn

At a full council meeting this week (16 February), council leader Cllr Kay Mason Billig criticised the Government’s “election hokey cokey”, calling the Communities Secretary, Steve Reed, a “two-faced bully”.

She said: “Last year, we were told that if we postponed our elections, we could get on the devolution priority program. So we went along with it, because it would mean a big prize for Norfolk and Suffolk.

“We put an awful lot of work into that and then just before Christmas, [the Government] pulled the rug on us and delayed our mayoral election.”

She continued: “So let’s move forward a year. [The Government] asked could we deliver devolution and LGR, which was a new idea alongside our elections in 2026. After consulting with officers, we told them the truth: If you ask us to do all of this together, it's not going to happen. So Steve Reed postponed our elections again. And no one was comfortable with this, and we've taken some understandable criticism as a result.

“Now, elections are on again and I can tell you today that devolution and LGR are off.”

She went on to call Secretary of State, Steve Reed, a “two-faced bully”, who did not care about Norfolk, his Labour councillors or local government.

Meanwhile, Suffolk County Council, which is on the same devolution priority programme alongside Norfolk, has said it will be up to the next administration to decide the best course of action for devolution.

According to The Times, Matthew Hicks, leader of Suffolk County Council, said the change of plan put a “significant question mark over the government’s agenda for devolution” and claimed proposals to merge authorities in the area were now “nigh on impossible”.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson said: “These claims are untrue. Norfolk’s place on the devolution priority programme has never been contingent on the timing of local authority elections and we remain committed to working with all local partners on mayoral devolution in Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Lottie Winson