Labour's devolution plans could lead to 'Shotgun Wedding' between Portsmouth and Hampshire, warn councillors

As part of the Government’s devolution agenda, strategic authorities could be created for areas with populations of at least 1.5m, led by directly elected mayors. These authorities would receive devolved powers from central government.

Additionally, Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals aim to replace district, borough, and county councils with larger unitary authorities providing all council services. These new authorities would need populations of at least 500,000.

An extraordinary cabinet meeting approved joining the Devolution Priority Programme to allow Portsmouth City Council time to negotiate its preferred reorganisation with the government and local partners.

Liberal Democrat council leader Steve Pitt said the move provides “breathing space”, with decisions on reorganisation not required until next autumn.

If councils opt out, the government could impose “ministerial direction”, forcing participation in devolution plans.

Labour group leader Cllr Charlotte Gerada supported the idea of a directly elected mayor for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, arguing it would provide much-needed strategic oversight and end Whitehall’s micromanagement of local decisions.

Cllr George Madgwick of the Portsmouth Independent Party supported joining the DPP but criticised the rushed process, saying the council was making decisions “with our backs against the wall” under government pressure.

If selected for the DPP, the government will begin public consultations in February. Plans for the local government reorganisation are expected to progress in 2026, though it remains unclear whether the government or councils will oversee the process.

Cllr Pitt described the process as a “shotgun wedding” and accused the government of using coercion to achieve its aims by “threatening ministerial direction to enforce its will on democratically elected local authorities without meaningful consultation”.

He added that the council would fully support devolution based on a Solent geography, separating north and south Hampshire, as two economic areas are “totally different in character".

However, government ministers have ruled out this approach, requiring Portsmouth to join with Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and the entire Hampshire County Council area.

Cllr Lee Hunt voiced strong opposition, stating the “increasingly autocratic” government could send local authorities into “turmoil and chaos”.

“We are to be forced to accept an arranged marriage with Southampton, Winchester and further afield in Basingstoke, Fleet and Aldershot in the north - what a stormy relationship that will be”.

The government's white paper, which outlines the devolution proposals, argues that England is “one of the most centralised countries in the developed world,” meaning that decision-making authority and control are heavily concentrated in central government.

It also notes that, despite austerity and inadequate funding for local government over the past 14 years, mayoral devolution has proven to be an effective vehicle for change.