Devon elections go ahead as fast track bid fails
Elections for all seats on Devon County Council will now go ahead later this year after an application to have them delayed was rejected.
The county council asked the government to postpone elections due across the county as part of its move towards merging with district councils under national devolution proposals.
Under national plans for local government reorganisation, Devon will merge district and county councils into new unitary authorities, which, in turn, are likely to be combined into larger strategic authorities with directly-elected mayors.
The county council had hoped to delay the May 2025 elections to deal with that reorganisation.
The government said the Devolution Priority Programme was only available to areas "where they are ready to achieve mayoral devolution at pace".
Devon County Council and Devon's two unitary councils in Plymouth and Torbay have all said they want to create a larger strategic authority with Cornwall, but councillors in Cornwall have voted against talks with their neighbouring county.
The Conservative leader of Devon County Council, James McInnes, said he was "disappointed" by the decision and would "continue to work on our proposals for local government reorganisation".
The Liberal Democrats are the main opposition on the county council and gained another member earlier in the week with the defection of Frank Biederman.
Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, said of the Conservatives: "It's little wonder they wanted to postpone elections this May.
"But their shameless attempt to cancel our elections has failed, and now they must explain to Devon why after years of being deemed inadequate they deserve their votes."
In January, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told a select committee it would be "ludicrous" for councils to hold elections if they were planning to reorganise their structures.
Elections for all 60 seats on Devon County Council are now due to take place on 1 May.
There have been various proposals for the reorganisation of local government in Devon, with both Exeter and Plymouth saying they would like to form expanded unitary authorities.
Those debates and negotiations will now continue with a final decision being made by the government.
Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.
Devon seeks permission to delay county elections
Half of county councils could see election delay
Councils unite to oppose devolution plans
Devon County Council
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Reform has landed in Scotland
Yet again a Scottish by-election has kicked the political establishment in the shins. Yes, in Scotland, after 18 years in power, the SNP is currently the political establishment and its defeat at the hands of Labour with a 602 vote majority – and Reform UK close behind in third place by just 869 – votes demonstrates the disruptors are making an impact. Labour's unexpected and narrow victory makes it clear the SNP is likely to struggle to form a Government when the full Holyrood election is held next May. That election will be held under a proportional voting system which, were Reform UK to poll anything like the 26.1 per cent achieved in Hamilton by its candidate Ross Lambie, could give the party a healthy group of MSPs in the mid-twenties and possibly make them king-makers. For the Conservatives, the evening was bad but not quite as embarrassing as they privately feared. Polling only 1621 votes, Tory sighs of relief were audible from Gretna to John O'Groats once they realised their vote share was 6 per cent, saving a lost deposit had it fallen to below 5 per cent. Still, it remains impossible to say if the Conservatives have yet bottomed out. Tory candidates face being squeezed across Scotland from all ends by the other pro-UK parties so long as regaining trust with voters remains the Conservatives' biggest challenge. Despite the best efforts of Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay providing more focussed stewardship, the Conservatives still risk falling below their worst ever Holyrood vote in 2011 when Annabel Goldie's campaign achieved only 12.4 per cent. The SNP leadership will need to look hard at their strategy of building up Reform as a 'far right' bogeyman and talking-up the prospect of a two-horse race between the SNP and Reform. The First Minster, John Swinney, had suggested the only way to stop Reform was for Labour voters to get behind the SNP; he begged them from the pages of a Labour-supporting tabloid to come over to the nationalists. Instead of reducing Labour's support by this tactical ploy, he received a stinging political slap in the face as his pleas only served to give Reform credibility as a serious challenger while Labour activists flooded the constituency on the last day to get their vote out. What is also clear from the by-election is that making out Nigel Farage as a vote loser in Scotland does not hold water. The same used to be said about Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, but the truth is there has always been a Scottish market for big personalities that parties of the Left have sought to demonise. Photos of the Clacton MP were all over the Reform UK's publicity materials, and he was regularly promoted via social media – and did the unthinkable of visiting the constituency during the campaign. Yes, he's a marmite figure, but he's been a marmite figure for much of his political life in most of England too, and now has the best ratings of all the party leaders. After the initial realisation during polling day that they simply did not have the shoe leather on the ground to push for second place, Reform UK's supporters quickly realised they had actually achieved an amazing result. Their candidate, Ross Lambie, had polled 7,088 – which next to Labour's 8,599 and the SNP's 7,957 resulted in a highly creditable three-way fight. Coming from only 7.8 per cent in the Hamilton and Clyde Valley Westminster constituency boundary at last year's general election to achieve 26.1 per cent this time round is a very strong showing. Reform UK has landed in Scotland. Brian Monteith is a former member of the Scottish and European parliaments Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadians divided on whether U.S. is an 'ally' or 'enemy' country: Poll
OTTAWA — Faced with a trade war they didn't start, Canadians are divided on whether they see the United States as an "enemy" or an "ally," a new poll suggests. The Leger poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed more than 1,500 people between May 30 and June 1. Almost a third of respondents said they view the U.S. as a "neutral country," while 27 per cent said they consider it an "ally" and 26 per cent see it as an "enemy country." Just over a third of men said they consider the U.S. an ally, compared with one in five women. Almost 30 per cent of women said they view the U.S. as an enemy, compared with 22 per cent of men. Older Canadians, those at least 55 years of age, were more likely to consider the U.S. an enemy than younger Canadians. Regionally Albertans were most likely to consider the U.S. an ally while Ontarians and British Columbians were most likely to see it as an enemy. The difference is starkest between political party supporters, with 44 per cent of Conservative supporters saying they view the U.S. as an ally, compared with 17 per cent of Liberal supporters and 12 per cent of NDP supporters said the same. Comparatively 16 per cent of Conservative supporters said they view the U.S. as an enemy country, while 36 per cent of Liberal supporters and 41 per cent of NDP supporters said the same. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to double his levies on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent. He claimed the measure will protect the country's national security and domestic industries. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said his government will need to take "some time" to craft a response to the increased U.S. tariffs. The number of Canadians that report seeing the U.S. as an enemy country has dropped by six points since mid-March. At that time, 32 per cent of survey respondents told Leger they viewed the country as an enemy. The number of Canadians that view the U.S. as an ally also decreased by two percentage points since March, from 29 to 27 per cent, while the number that view it as a neutral country increased by six percentage points, from 24 to 30 per cent. Andrew Enns, Leger's executive vice-president for Central Canada, said that, broadly speaking, the patterns haven't changed much since the organization asked the question in February — when 27 per cent of respondents said they viewed the U.S. as an enemy and 30 per cent said they viewed it as an ally. Enns said the decline in the number of people saying the U.S. is an enemy likely reflects the overall sentiment on tariffs. "It's still obviously there and, you know, clearly now we're dealing with higher steel tariffs, but the commentary coming from the White House and the Trump administration seems to have dissipated a bit and that's probably helping just tone things down," he said. Enns said Canada also has a new prime minister with a mandate that might "take the edge off things." "I think that just keeps things more at a moderate level, and I think that reflects in people maybe feeling a little less threatened by the U.S.," Enns said. Enns said political and business leaders have also sent a consistent message that the U.S. remains an important trading partner. He said that may encourage Canadians to believe there's a way to "work things out." The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Most new build homes must have solar panels
Builders will be required to fit solar panels to the "vast majority" of new build homes in England under changes to be published this year, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said. The regulations will require developers to add panels unless the buildings fall under certain exemptions such as being covered by shade. Speaking to the BBC, Miliband said the move was "just common sense" adding that solar panels would save the typical household £500 a year on their energy bills. The Home Builders Federation said it backed fitting more panels but cautioned against introducing "burdensome" paperwork which it said could harm government efforts to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029. The rules will be included in the Future Homes Standard, which will detail a wider plan for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. The government says it will be published in autumn but there will be a transitional period for developers to adjust to the regulation changes. Planning change to make installing heat pump easier for millions No excuses not to build 1.5m new homes, Rayner says How the political consensus on climate change has shattered Current building regulations do not compel developers to add solar panels to new homes. The last Conservative government consulted on new regulations including a proposal that new build homes should have rooftop solar panels covering the equivalent of 40% of the building's ground area. However, they were voted out of power before their proposed changes could be implemented. The Labour government is now promising to introduce rules which would mandate developers to add solar panels to all new builds. Asked if the government would stick to the 40% figure proposed by the previous Conservative government, Miliband said the details would be set out in the autumn. "The problem about the previous system was that it said you would had to have a certain percentage of coverage of solar panels but if you couldn't achieve that percentage you didn't have to do anything at all. "Under our plans, we are not going to say that. We are going to say even if you can't hit 40% you will still have to have some solar panels, except in rare exceptional cases." Miliband said the number of homes with solar panels had to be "much, much higher" adding: "It's got to be almost universal." Asked if he worried developers would pass the cost of adding solar panels on to buyers, Miliband said he didn't think there would be an effect on house prices. Neil Jefferson, head of the Home Builders Federation, said an estimated two in five new homes had solar panels and that the industry was "getting increasingly used to incorporating solar panels within the building of new homes". "The government just needs to take care to make sure that it does not prescribe and mandate to much on rooftops." "If every single home needs to be applied for on an exemption basis that will slow up the delivery of desperately-needed new homes, that administration will be burdensome." Chris Hewitt, from the trade body Solar Energy UK, said local authorities would have to be "vigilant" to ensure developers were meeting their obligations but added that it would be "quite easy to enforce". He also said he did not expect many homes to be exempt, estimating that 90% of new build homes would have to comply with the new rules. Asked if the sector had the skills to keep up with demand, Mr Hewitt said: "We are certainly aware that we need to train more people... that's something we as an industry are working on." The announcement comes a week after the government ditched a planning rule in order to make it easier for people to install heat pumps in their homes. Increasing solar power is one way the government hopes to reduce the country's carbon emissions. The UK is legally committed to reaching its net zero target by 2050, meaning the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. In 2022, emissions from residential buildings made up 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The government's advisory body, the Climate Change Committee, has said the UK will not be able to meet its targets "without near complete decarbonisation of the housing stock". According to analysis by Carbon Brief, power generated by solar sites in the UK hit record highs this year, partly driven by particularly sunny weather. Between January and May, the level was 42% higher than the same period in 2024 and marked a 160% increase over the last decade. However, solar power remains the UK's sixth largest source of electricity, behind gas, wind, imports, nuclear and biomass. The net-zero goal was set by the previous Conservative government and retained by Labour. However, recently Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said the target is "impossible" to achieve "without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us". Reform UK have called for the target to be scrapped entirely, arguing it has led to higher energy bills, while the Greens and Liberal Democrats want the government to hit the target faster.
