It is only a month since publication of the white paper on English Devolution, we know that three-quarters of the councils due to hold elections in May have requested a postponement. Elected members and senior officers have been busy canvassing opinions and arranging votes. But that was just the start. Across the country, urgent discussions are taking place about the case to be made to the Government for redrawing political and geographical boundaries.

The Government intends to respond imminently to postponement requests and has made it clear that only some will be granted. Local Government minister Jim McMahon has said there will be a ‘high bar', but it is not yet clear exactly how and where the bar will be set. Even the stipulation that unitaries should have a population of at least 500,000 comes with a caveat that there will be ‘exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area' (we might speculate that an exception could include the presence of a large city, or a complication relating to a neighboring unitary authority). So, how will councils figure out how to construct a successful bid? How will the criteria the Government is due to identify need to be reflected in proposals that are put forward?