Lancashire waits for news on referendums after talks

County council leaders have met a government minister to discuss the possibility of referendums on an elected mayor and a shake-up of local councils.

- by Paul Faulkner

However, both Lancashire County Council (LCC) leader Stephen Atkinson and local government minister Jim McMahon have remained tight-lipped on the outcome of the meeting in London.

The government has invited Lancashire's local authority chiefs to put forward a plan for a “deeper” devolution deal by the autumn - and has made no secret of the fact it would like to see the county adopt an Andy Burnham-style mayor in return for more powers and cash.

It has also ordered a radical revamp of the council landscape, which will see all 15 main local authorities in Lancashire abolished and just a handful of replacements created, covering much larger areas than the current district-level bodies.