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Preston was the political centre of the North of England for two days this week.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner swept into the city to deliver a stern deadline for when the city and county of Lancashire will have an elected Mayor.
May 2026 is when the government expects there to be a champion for the Red Rose county.
Read more: Tax, scrapping your local council and investment – what a mayor for Lancashire would mean for you
Her comments came as she delivered a speech and was quizzed by Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh in front of more than 800 business, civic and political leaders at Convention of the North.
Rayner said: “I’ve been really straight that we want Mayors. With the new priority programme by May 2026 then all the North will have Mayors which is fantastic.”
Her response came after being questioned about areas without Mayors – such as Lancashire – being left behind when it comes to more funding and increased powers.
The clear deadline means Lancashire – which as it stands does not have a Devolution deal that includes a Mayor as the head of its Combined Authority which has only within the last few weeks begun to operate – will have to agree to a proposed local government reorganisation which scraps Lancashire County Council and district councils, such as Preston City Council, and introduces three or four unitary style authorities covering the county with a Mayor sitting above this in charge of the Combined Authority.
You can watch Rayner’s full speech and Q&A session with Ranvir below or on X
Rayner also repeated remarks about the need for accelerated house-building and handing more money and powers to Mayoral authorities to carry out large-scale infrastructure projects.
She told the conference: “It isn’t by accident that devolution sits in my department. It is by design. Because mayors aren’t just a helpful tool to unlock housing, transport and infrastructure, they are a critical levers in our mission of growth.
“Let me tell you why. All of you in this room are trying – like I am – to get Britain building again. Yes, building houses, but also building your business, building renewable energy, building data centres.
“All too often, we are met by a system that says: “don’t bother”. Well, I am determined to break that system. And I am handing mayors the sledgehammer!
“Earlier this year we published a new national planning framework to break down the barriers to sustainable growth. And today, I want to share more details on how we will go even further, in our Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
“Mayors are at the centre of our plans to build 1.5 million homes, by giving them the powers they need, mayors are an army to take on the blockers. We are backing them to work across huge regional geographies to get the job done. It’s why we’re giving them the powers to call in applications on those large, strategic sites that will really turn the wheel on growth.
“And it’s why we’re putting grant funding for regeneration and housing in their hands. To enable mayors to deliver on their plans, we will forge a stronger partnership between them and Homes England. Over time, we will move Homes England to a more regionalised model so that the agency is even more responsive to the economic plan of an area.”
Rayner went on to praise the city’s strong aerospace sector, saying: “Here in Preston, people have decent jobs to be proud of – just look at the Eurofighter Typhoon programme. We cannot underestimate the impact that business investment like that can have on an area. This is a sector that is critical for our national security, and economic growth.”
The two day conference was dominated by the current crop of Metro Mayors – from the likes of Greater Manchester, Liverpool, the North East and West Yorkshire. They featured heavily on panels and in Q&A sessions across both days of the Convention with the first day taking place within County Hall and the second day in the University of Lancashire’s sports hall which was turned into a conference venue for 24-hours, in the same way it is used for the twice-a-year graduation ceremonies.
Lancashire County Council’s deputy leader, county councillor Alan Vincent, stepped in for county council leader Phillippa Williamson to make some of the opening remarks of the conference stressing Lancashire’s well-placed economic benefits and the size of its aerospace sector and how it was well placed for future growth in tech-related and cyber jobs. The Lancashire Growth Plan, a 10-year strategy for growing the economy of the county, was also launched at the Convention – although the document and strategy sits with the newly formed Lancashire Combined Authority.
Cabinet member for economic development and growth, Conservative county councillor Aidy Riggott, reacting to Angela Rayner’s Devolution timeline told Blog Preston: “Well, we recognise government’s ambition. They’ve been very clear with the public and private sector. And it’s great that they have that ambition for our place.
“But I think what I would say we’ve got to where we’ve got to by building trust and collaboration with our partners, cross party, cross authority and that has enabled us to move to the place where we have a Devolution deal which only a few years ago in Lancashire looked at distinct and remote possibility.
“So I want us to continue with those values, that approach and we will just keep moving forward to having those conversations and seeing where it takes Lancashire and then we will arrive at the right point at the right time for Lancashire and I’m sure government will appreciate us getting to wherever that is when we reach a point but I don’t want to pre-determine when or what that would look like because we haven’t concluded those discussions and I think there’s probably a variety of different views and it will take more compromise and more collaboration to get to the right destination for Lancashire.”
No one from Preston City Council or Preston-based organisations (other than the county council) appeared on any of the panel sessions across the two-day conference, despite two city venues hosting it.
The conference was welcomed to the city by leader of the city council, councillor Matthew Brown, who said: “The Convention of the North event has been a great success, and we are proud to be able to put Preston on the map and welcome visitors from the world of politics, academia, and business to the city.
“For the first time it is being held in the North West’s third largest city and has presented an excellent opportunity for Preston to showcase what it has to offer, our exciting regeneration plans and ambitions for the future, accompanied by the progress we are making towards a fairer and more democratic local economy through Community Wealth Building.
“Preston, as the leading commercial hub for Lancashire and the urban heart of a £35bn economy, is bursting with potential. Our key sector strengths including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, cyber and digital offer many emerging new opportunities for our young people, in a well-connected, culturally vibrant, and green city, rich in opportunity.
“As Lancashire continues its devolution journey, a thriving Preston city region is a prerequisite for a successful Lancashire economy, and we want to ensure all residents and local businesses benefit from the city’s economic development and regeneration.”
Cllr Brown, who is also a county councillor, has been vocal in his support for a Devolution deal involving a Mayor and also advanced a proposal for creating a ‘Greater Preston’ area unitary authority which saw strong backlash from neighbouring places such as Penwortham and Garstang.
During the Thursday evening more than 200 delegates from Preston-related organisations and attendees of Convention of the North were invited to a Preston Partnership event at Chews Yard to discover more about the city and its future.
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