Eighteen months ago, 36 regions eagerly submitted ambitious proposals in the hope of getting their hands on a raft of localised powers and modest funding packages. The Treasury-backed ‘devolution revolution’ appeared to be a sign that the Government was finally prepared to reverse decades of centralisation.
How things have changed. Since September 2015, proposals have almost crumbled by the week. Now just six areas are set to elect mayors in May.
The Government is now undertaking a ‘devolution stocktake,’ but Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond clearly do not share the same appetite as their predecessors for the agenda. And now, of course, Whitehall has its hands full as it tries to navigate the complicated process of leaving the EU.