Responding to measures contained within the government’s White Paper on English Devolution, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said: 

“Local democracy is in urgent need of reform but this White Paper does not deliver the real change our local councils need.  

“It steals power away from local people and risks making the real changes required harder to achieve, including building the homes we need, cleaning our rivers, reforming social care and greening our local economies. 

“We should trust local communities to make the right decisions on homes, food, energy, nature and adapting to the climate crisis.  

“Instead, these plans risk moving power away from local councils to huge remote super councils and regional mayors. 

“Devolution must mean real decentralisation of powers and funding so local councils can deliver the improvements to services that their communities need. 

“If we want warmer homes; affordable, reliable accessible public transport, and flood defences that are fit for purpose, we must invest in local democracy. 

“Without power devolved down so that decisions are made closest to where they have the greatest impact, people will grow ever more cynical about politics. 

“Our fragile democracy can’t afford that. 

“We will be pressing for local government to be kept local and made more democratic.