What is devolution and what could it mean for councils in the South?

Planned local elections across the South of England could be delayed, if councillors formally endorse radical devolution plans this week.

Ministers are offering to hand over a raft of new powers to areas if they agree to scrap the current two-tier system of local government.

It would see an end to district and county councils in Kent, Essex, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire.

They would be replaced with unitary authorities, like those which currently exist in Thurrock and Dorset.

Above these new ‘super-councils’ would sit larger strategic authorities, potentially led by a directly-elected mayor.

Local authorities have until Friday to request to be among the first areas to get extra powers over housing, planning, transport and energy.

The decisions are controversial because they would mean the delaying of May’s county council elections by at least 12 months.

Central government is expected to decide in February which areas will be on its devolution priority programme.

It could see elections planned for 1 May 2025 cancelled in East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and Thurrock.

Smaller parties, including the Greens and Reform UK, are particularly unhappy about what they see as denying voters their democratic rights.

Which councils have, so far, supported the devolution plans?

• Thurrock Council has approved recommendations to commit to the Government's priority programme for devolution. It has confirmed it will ask the government to postpone the local elections due to be held in May.

• Surrey County Council says it will "fully engage" with the Government's devolution plans and has requested that Surrey be part of the 'first wave'. Its leader, Councillor Tim Oliver, has written to the government to ask if the county's elections can be held in 2026 instead, in order for it to have time to put together proposals.

• Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet said it will recommend to request that Oxfordshire is placed into a devolution 'fast track'. It said it would accept a postponement of the scheduled local elections if the Government can commit to a new shadow unitary council/councils in May 2026. The plans are due to be discussed on Thursday.

• Portsmouth City Council's cabinet formally said it supported asking for devolved powers on Wednesday and becoming part of the Government's priority programme. The City Council Leader, Steve Pitt, said it would give more time to "negotiate any new arrangements with the government and local partners".

• Southampton City Council's cabinet also agreed to support the devolution plan on Wednesday.

• Hampshire County Council voted in favour of a new combined authority and mayor in a meeting on Thursday. It also agreed to postpone May's elections by 12 months.

• East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council have expressed interest to be considered for the devolution programme. The Cabinets of the three councils indicated their support for a "Sussex Mayoral Strategic Authority, which could unlock new money and powers for the region".

• Kent County Council, along with Medway Council, have also agreed to be part of the Government's priority programme. It's thought mayoral elections could take place in the county as early as May 2026 if they are accepted onto the programme. KCC's Leader, Roger Gough, described the decision as "momentous".

Which councils have, so far, rejected the devolution plans?

• Isle of Wight Council has rejected a devolution plan that could have led to an elected mayor for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. At the full council meeting on Wednesday evening, 16 councillors opposed, 12 were in favour and three abstained. Joe Robertson MP, Isle of Wight East, said it risked powers "disappearing off the Island and a lack of clear benefits for Islanders". A formal decision will be made by the Council's Cabinet at 5pm on Thursday.

The District Councils Network said: "This is likely to mean that the local electorate has no ability to cast its verdict on plans – which were not mentioned in Labour’s general election manifesto – to replace highly localised district councils with mega councils with populations in excess of half a million people.

"We are concerned that reorganisation is being rushed, with councils given until 10 January to decide if they sought to delay elections in response to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December."

The Government said its position is that elections this year will be going ahead as planned. It said each case for local council's will be considered on its merits before making any decisions.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "No decisions have been taken on postponing elections.

"We will only consider postponing elections for areas where the council concerned have requested it and where it helps an area to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeline."

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