Devolution back on the agenda for East Mids, says report

Council leaders from across the East Midlands have opened talks aimed at developing a pathway to an organisation that they hope would act as a “counterbalance” to the power of the West Midlands and lead to a devolution deal.

According to reports in Local Government Chronicle (LGC), initial discussions have taken place between Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire County Councils around how the East Midlands can compete with the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Leicestershire County Council leader Nick Rushton told LGC that the government would find it hard to ignore a combined authority that also inclded Derby, Leicester and Nottingham city councils.

He said: He said: “We are in the Midlands Engine, we are in Midlands Connect, we need to have something big in the east to counteract Andy Street and Birmingham in the west – we haven’t got that massive body of power in the east.

“We need something big and strategic that is recognised by the government and could attract substantial devolution. We have all promised officer time to look at something between now and the end of the summer.”

Both Rushton and Derbyshire leader Barry Lewis told LGC that the proposals for a strategic body would involve reorganisation at a local level in some areas of the East Midlands.

This isn’t the the first time the East Midlands counties have pushed for a devolution deal. In 2015 a Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire bid failed over the ability to adopt an elected mayor, while a year later a Greater Lincolnshire bid fell apart over the same reason.