Professor Steve Leach and Dennis Reed analyse the latest action on reorganisation and ask whether local government should be asking for more from the Government

On 18 February The MJ broke the news that a ‘unitary option' had been mooted in the push for devolution deals. It learned that central government had offered three options: a devolution deal with an elected mayor, a deal incorporating a move to unitary authorities, or no deal. This development is presumably what was heralded in one of the last-minute changes to the Cities and Local Government Bill, which allowed for fast-track structural and boundary changes in two-tier areas.