Cornwall council cabinet reject devolution deal with mayor

Council leader Linda Taylor said the devolution of powers and investment were "vital for the future prosperity of Cornwall"

Cornwall Council cabinet members have agreed to abandon plans for a "level 3" devolution deal which would have required a directly-elected mayor.

The council will now pursue a "level 2" deal which means Cornwall will not get a £360m mayoral investment fund.

The U-turn follows the results of a public consultation which found 69% of people were opposed to the proposal.

Council leader Linda Taylor was critical of groups which she said had not had an open mind about the process.

Ms Taylor singled out town and parish councils which had submitted letters to the council saying they opposed the plans before they were published, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said there had been "vile and hostile" remarks made by people opposed to the plans and said the Conservative administration did not want to "deny future generations" the opportunity to pursue further devolution or achieve their ambitions.

A level 2 deal offers fewer powers including no control of transport spending or the long-term investment fund.

Colin Martin, acting leader of the Liberal Democrat group at County Hall, challenged Ms Taylor on the decision to drop the plans and asked whether her hand had been forced by backbench members of her own party who were against the plans.

He asked: "Are your backbenchers preventing you from doing what you think is best for Cornwall?"

Ms Taylor said the Conservative group was supportive of the decision not to pursue a level 3 deal but said the decision had been taken due to the results of the public consultation.

Labour group leader Jayne Kirkham highlighted that the Labour Party had indicated that if it wins the next General Election it would not require areas to have an elected mayor to secure devolution deals like the Level 3 one which had been proposed.

It is anticipated that details of the new deal would be made available to councillors in September.