Devolution Explained
Devolution is a term you may have heard a few times since Labour’s victory in 2024, and it’s one you will be hearing much more of as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has laid out his priority to transfer powers away from Westminster to every community.
What is Devolution?
Devolution essentially means giving local authorities the power to alter services that have typically been controlled by central government. These services include:
Housing
Planning (e.g. deciding whether a new shopping centre will be built)
Transport
Education
Employment support
Economic development (financial decisions to maximise growth in the area)
Changing structures
The government plans on having all areas of the UK covered by Strategic Authorities. Strategic authorities of local government will have 3 levels of power:
Foundation Strategic Authorities (least power)
These are local authorities that are either a combined authority without a mayor, such as Lancashire (a typically big region but simply hasn’t appointed a mayor) or combined county authorities (typically two or more smaller counties coming together)
Mayoral Strategic Authorities (more power)
This is where Westminster powers truly begin to be handed over. If an authority chooses to elect a Mayor (all Strategic Authorities have that option), then the government will increase their powers (planning, education, housing, etc).
Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (the most powerful)
Once a Mayoral Strategic Authority proves that they can run their area successfully, the government will provide them with even more powers to run their areas as they see fit.
What does it mean for towns and villages?
This is where it gets slightly confusing. Automatically, you might assume that devolution means that Left Behind communities get more say in what happens to them. The reality is slightly more nuanced. Changes are introduced to transition power from Westminster to regional authorities (e.g Hertfordshire). Local village councils (such as Stanstead Abbotts) may actually have reduced decision-making powers in their local area.
Example of planned proposals for devolved councils- Hertfordshire
22 July, 2026
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