Stop Devolution – Protect Local Democracy

Changes like so-called ‘devolution’ should only happen with proper public consultation and a local referendum. We must have a say in how we are governed. True devolution should bring power closer to local people, but instead, the government’s plan would:

• Remove elected local councillors who represent us.
• Hand excessive control to a single mayor—limiting our say.
• Push through changes without a public vote—there should have been a referendum.

This is about centralising power, not local empowerment. The excessive costs and complexities of a mayoral election mean that only big parties can compete, leaving us with party-controlled mayors, not true local representatives.

To make matters worse, the government is also now planning to strip councillors of their power to intervene in most planning applications. Local councillors understand local issues—they must be able to stand up for residents.

This is a serious threat to local democracy, and I will fight against it.