Cornwall County Council has dropped its plans to accept a devolution deal which included an elected mayor.
Cornwall’s U-turn came after a consultation revealed some public opposition. Of 6,105 responses to a survey, 69% were against the deal with a mayor.
Opposition parties rejected the idea of a mayor as ‘toxic’ and a ‘lame duck’.
Conservative council leader Linda Taylor said it was with the ‘greatest regret’ she could not recommend a level three deal – the highest level of devolution.
She said she would instead push for a level two deal, which comes with significantly less Government funding.
‘Whilst there is considerable support for the proposed Cornwall Devolution Deal, there is also significant concern about the requirement to move to a directly elected mayor.’
A spokesperson for the County Councils Network (CCN) said it had long called for a new approach to devolution in county areas, moving away from the traditional combined authority model more suitable for city and urban areas.
‘That is why we strongly welcomed the Levelling Up White Paper providing a clear devolution framework and new governance models better suited to these county areas,’ they said.
‘But ultimately it is down to individual councils to decide whether these arrangements suit their local needs.’
