Is Devolution Losing Momentum?

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

Politics, News, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The government has pushed back mayoral elections in four regions leaving voters in Greater Essex, Sussex & Brighton, Hampshire & the Solent, and Norfolk & Suffolk waiting until 2028 instead of 2026. So why the delay? Is this a calculated political move, or a last-minute stumble? Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has appointed 25 peers to the House of Lords. What does this mean for Lords reform? Plus – new Minsiters Reflect interviews from Sajid Javid, Simon Hart and Theresa Villiers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The news has been dominated again by Donald Trump, the future of Ukraine and even Europe's role in the future of Western civilization.
0:16.3	But on the home front, the government has been facing its own battles with democracy and the question of where power
0:21.7	lies. I'm Hannah White and this is Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:28.0	Last week, the government announced that elections for new mayors in four regions will now be delayed.
0:33.6	Despite a great deal of preparation in the areas concerned, voters in Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent and Norfolk and Suffolk will be waiting until 2028 instead of 2026.
0:46.3	Why has the government done this? Is this part of a clever strategy or a desperate last-minute fumble?
0:52.8	Meanwhile, Wednesday saw the news that the government is installing
0:55.8	yet more peers into the House of Lords. This comes after a series of battles between the
1:00.4	government and the Second Chamber on new laws, including the assisted dying bill, and new
1:05.0	worker protections. So, what lies behind the battle? What might happen? And will it make a difference to the long-running
1:11.8	debate about House of Lords reform? And finally, Sajad Javid says he lost faith in Boris Johnson's
1:18.8	leadership. Simon Hart says the Sunite government nearly collapsed over the Rwanda bill,
1:23.7	and Theresa Villiers says that WhatsApp group chats were critical to defeating Theresa May's Brexit deal.
1:30.1	That's right. We've got more Ministers Reflect interviews out this week. We'll speak to the team behind them.
1:35.8	And we have an excellent line-up in the studio here to discuss all this with me. Akash Pound directs our devolution program. Hi, Akash.
1:42.8	Hi, Heather.
1:43.7	And Jack Pannel and Rebecca McKee work on our
1:45.7	ministers and parliament teams. Hi, Jack. Hi, Rebecca. Hi, yeah. Hi. Okay, let's begin by talking
1:51.8	about the decision to delay those mayoral elections. Akash, tell us what's happened and what
1:57.0	is the government saying is the reason for it. Yeah, so as you said in your intro there, Hannah, in May 26, four regions of England
2:06.4	were all set to hold their inaugural regional mayoral election.
2:11.0	So you mentioned the places.
	...

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