Burnham's devolution push empowers mayors but leaves many English towns in limbo

The Burnham administration is fast-tracking England’s devolution agenda, building on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act to replace two-tier councils with unitary bodies and elevate regional mayors to “strategic authorities”. By April 2027 mayors will keep an as-yet-unspecified share of business rates, and from the following year a portion of local income tax, supplanting existing Whitehall grants. Established mayoral areas such as Greater London, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool city region and the West Midlands anticipate expanded control over schools, health services and housing projects.

In contrast, towns in Somerset, Wiltshire and other non-mayoral zones lack any elected regional leader and may be left out of the new funding streams. Recent postponements of mayoral elections in counties like Greater Essex and Sussex, plus conflicts over police-force boundaries, underscore the logistical hurdles. Critics warn that oversight outside London will rely on weak “scrutiny committees”. The government aims for every English area to have a strategic authority by the end of 2027 and full coverage by 2028, a timetable many consider overly ambitious.