Warrington Council has been courting the Liverpool city region with an eye on joining its devolution deal, The MJ understands.
The council had joined with its Cheshire neighbours to submit a devolution bid last year that described the region as the ‘gateway to the Northern Powerhouse’.
However, the Labour leadership has since got cold feet over fears they would be ruled by a Tory mayor.
A source revealed that Warrington had written to both the Liverpool city region and Greater Manchester combined authorities to enquire about becoming a member.
The insider said: ‘We didn’t get a response from Greater Manchester and the feeling is that Warrington would get a bit lost if we joined.
‘We got a quick response from the Liverpool city region and they were open to chatting.
'The feeling is that we would have more synergy with those councils and a lot more clout.
‘We haven’t got a problem with having an elected mayor – it was the political aspect that was hard to swallow.
'It’s still a possibility that we go it alone.
'It’s up in the air at the moment and we’ve got to wait until it settles.’
For more on devolution visit The MJ (£).
