County council elections set to be postponed

Norfolk County Council has asked the government to postpone its local elections this year, in the first step towards a major shake-up of local authorities.

Councillors voted in favour of working with Westminster on a plan which would see the smaller councils scrapped and a mayor overseeing Norfolk and Suffolk.

Whilst the vast majority of councillors backed the proposal at an earlier meeting, there was an air of reluctance, with concerns raised by all parties about the pace of the plan.

Conservative council leader Kay Mason Billig described it as a "bizarre situation" and warned that the authority was being asked to "progress at breakneck speed".

"We find ourselves being pushed in what I would describe as 'indecent haste' to make a decision on whether we wish to join the government priority programme on devolution, which seems to be the only option on the table for us," she said.

After announcing plans for new devolution deals last month, the government set a tight deadline - of this Friday - for councils to say if they wanted to be part of its so-called priority programme.

The plan would see hundreds of district and county councils replaced by larger unitary authorities across England, with more regionally elected mayors.

Ministers believe fewer councils with more responsibilities can save money and provide better services.

While no proposals have been published, it is widely expected that reorganisation will see three unitary authorities running services in Norfolk, and two in Suffolk.

The vote was the first step towards opening talks on what local government in Norfolk might look like, but many councillors clearly had reservations.

Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins said there had been "little or no effort to consult with people about the likely implications of devolution and how it will affect their everyday lives".

He also said the idea of postponing elections was "just plain wrong" and "should not be a precondition for possible future reform".

Nonetheless, he voted in favour of the proposal.

As did Labour's Steve Morphew, who said that previously discussed – but failed – devolution deals for Norfolk would have seen elections postponed.

The three Green councillors present voted against the proposal, with group leader Catherine Rowett describing it as "about as opaque as a foggy winter night".

The government – which has said no decision has been made on postponing elections – said it would aim to respond to councils' requests to be part of the devolution priority programme "as soon as possible" .

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