The launch of the English Devolution White Paper back in December fired the starting pistol on local government reorganisation, but last week saw the start of the sprint in earnest.

Six areas were given the go-ahead for devolution deals and the associated reorganisation – far fewer than the dozen originally expected in the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP). Before opponents of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) took the culled list as a sign of the Government getting cold feet, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner made it clear no one was immune. All other two-tier areas have received a letter calling for their LGR plans by the Autumn.