At the moment no-one in Devon knows where we are going under the proposed local government reorganisation, except that district councils, the ones we are probably most aware of, are being abolished in the name of efficiency.

Ironically District Councils are the ones who collect Council Tax but East Devon only spends about 7% of it, not much more than is spent by towns and parishes.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Honiton is hedging its bets by filling its coffers in what looks like an attempt to “take back control” and fill the vacuum. See how Honiton wants a 49.9% hike in precept].

As the press report referenced in the previous paragraph suggests, Honiton may not be the only town council doing this.

Honiton’s “vision” can be found on this link and more in depth press reviews following Owl’s post on Jo Fotheringham’s resignation can be found here.

Owl thought it might be helpful to review the back story: the evolution of local government; and wonders how far Honiton can rewind the clock.

Formation of East Devon District Council in 1974

East Devon District Council (EDDC) was formed in 1974.

It covers the whole area of eight former districts and part of a ninth, which were all abolished at the same time (many will be familiar names, others like St Thomas Rural which had its offices in Southernhay East, may not be):

• Axminster Rural District
• Budleigh Salterton Urban District
• Exmouth Urban District
• Honiton Municipal Borough
• Honiton Rural District
• Ottery St Mary Urban District
• St Thomas Rural District (parts north-east of Exeter, rest went to Teignbridge)
• Seaton Urban District
• Sidmouth Urban District

The purpose, surprise, surprise, was to make efficiency and cost savings. 

Before 1 April 1974, there were 1,211 local authorities in England. In many cases towns were governed by separate authorities from their rural surroundings. A 1971 White Paper proposed rationalisation for the following reasons:

“The areas of many existing authorities are out-dated and no longer reflect the pattern of life and work in modern society. The division between counties and county boroughs has prolonged an artificial separation of big towns from their surrounding hinterlands for functions whose planning and administration need to embrace both town and country.”

The reform created a more standardised pattern of 45 county councils and 332 district councils, though in the six metropolitan counties the division of functions between the two tiers was different from elsewhere. 

This produced a reduction of about 75% in the number of councils.

The White Paper also stated that “local authority areas should be related to areas within which people have a common interest – through living in a recognisable community, through the links of employment, shopping or social activities, or through history and tradition”.

This Act was hugely controversial at the time. It established some new counties and merged others.

It also ended the freedoms of ‘county boroughs’ – large towns and cities that had been allowed, in effect, to opt out of county council ‘control’ and run county services in their areas.

Nevertheless, these reforms were considerably less radical than those proposed by the 1968 Royal Commission on Local Government (the Redcliffe-Maud report)

Redcliffe-Maude redux?

Has Sir Humphrey run out of new ideas or is there really nothing new to add to the Redcliffe-Maude report? It looks suspiciously like the starting point for what the government is now seeking.

The 1968 Royal Commission proposed 58 unitary authorities to cover the whole of England outside of Greater London, plus three two-tier areas based on Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.  

[Note that 58 unitary authorities are just where we are headed now!]

The current 2025 reforms are aiming at creating between 2 or 3 unitary councils in place of each county council and its associated districts, effectively producing a similar reduction to that achieved in 1974.

It is also worth noting in the detail that Radcliffe-Maud proposed that Cornwall should become a single Unitary Authority and Devon be split into two: Plymouth and Devon (with Exeter included in Devon).

Evolution of local governance from ancient boroughs, parishes and feudal systems 

Local governance as we recognise it today started with the industrial revolution and consequential rapid increase in population and population densities.

Boards of improvement commissioners were ad hoc urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries to cope with things like street paving, lighting, cleaning and policing.

Local Boards of health were formed in response to cholera outbreaks in the late 19th century concerning themselves with sewage and water supply and general sanitary arrangements. These became particularly influential in the emerging Devon seaside resorts. 

Local authority elementary education boards were established in 1870 to take over from church and charity education foundations; their remit was extended to secondary education in 1902.

What happened to the Localism Act 2011?

This Act aimed to shift power, responsibility, and resources from Whitehall to local councils, neighbourhood groups, and individuals, promoting self-sufficiency and local decision-making.

Not at all obvious to Owl that this is the direction we are heading towards.

It is a year or two since Owl reported on vocal disagreements in Honiton TC, though it does seem to have “Form” for walkouts and even mass resignations. [Search: Honton goings on]

Cllr. Joanne Fotheringham has just issued this press release:

HONITON TOWN COUNCILLOR RESIGNS IN PROTEST AT 50% INCREASE IN PRECEPT

Honiton Town Councillor Joanne Fotheringham has resigned from Honiton Town Council in protest at what she describes as “its speculative and poorly considered approach to public expenditure”.

Cllr Fotheringham said her decision follows growing concern over the Council’s financial direction, particularly its proposal to increase the council tax precept by 49.90%

This takes the precept from £667,545 to £1,000,645 which represents £243.43 per annum per Band D equivalent property, an increase of £81.03.

“I can no longer support the direction in which the Council is headed,” she said. “A 50% rise in the council tax precept is indefensible and reflects a hasty, back‑of‑an‑envelope response to uncertainty over Local Government Reorganisation, rather than a responsible, long‑term plan.”

She criticised the Council’s decision to allocate £120,000 for legal and other fees for Local Government Reorganisation, despite a reduction in the number of potential asset transfers, describing the fund as “increasingly resembling a slush fund for the Transitional Committee.”

Cllr Fotheringham also cited wider concerns about poor planning, pressure on council staff, and the misuse of public resources for exclusive events such as the Mayor’s Charity Ball.

She expressed particular frustration at the Council’s refusal to hold an open tender process for the Beehive lease, despite legal advice supporting it — a move she said “preserved the status quo and excluded alternative bids that might have better served the community.”

“Honiton deserves a council that serves its people honestly, efficiently, and with a sense of purpose grounded in financial and practical reality.” Cllr Fotheringham said. “Sadly, I no longer believe this Council meets that standard.”

Cllr Fotheringham concluded by thanking Council staff, praising their professionalism, dedication and good humour under difficult circumstances.”

Dear Owl,  

I’ve read with interest your articles inEast Devon Watch regarding Exeter City Council elections being cancelled. I firmly believe that these elections must go ahead.

In my opinion, if any politician switches allegiances, a by-election should also automatically be triggered.  

The MP for Exmouth and Exeter East and different councillors in his constituency have also been critical of Exeter Labour wanting to cancel the planned city council elections. I’m rather cynical because they’ve been less vocal about the need to have by-elections in cases where councillors have “crossed the aisle” after their election. 

In September 2025, we read that the elected Reform UK Limited Devon County Councillor for Pinhoe and Mincinglake was expelled from his political party. 

On Devon County Council website, he’s now listed as Independent with no political grouping. 

But he appears to do the social media for Advance UK Limited – Exeter Branch and is critical of Exeter City Councillors. 

Perhaps he should call a by-election as he was NOT elected to be an Independent county councillor with political allegiances to Advance UK?  

In September 2025, we read that the elected Reform UK Limited Devon County Councillor for Wonford and St Loyes resigned from her political party.  

On Devon County Council website, she’s also listed as Independent with no political grouping. 

She hasn’t been vocal on social media about Exeter City Council elections being cancelled, but apparently she has had talks with Advance UK. Constituents might be grateful if she could call a by-election as she’s no longer a member of Reform UK Limited.  

In December 2025, we read that the Conservative Exeter City Councillor for St Loyes ward defected to Reform UK Limited. 

This councillor stood as a candidate for UKIP in 2015 and 2019 in this ward in Exeter City Council elections, but was unsuccessful in being elected. In 2023, she stood as a Conservative candidate and the former Conservative MP for East Devon posted pictures of them leafletting together. She was elected as the Conservative councillor for St Loyes in May 2023. 

Since her defection, on social media her Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East hasn’t called for a by-election in this ward. However, he has been vocal about the Exeter City Council elections being cancelled. 

On social media, the Branch Chair of Exmouth and Exeter East Reform UK Limited, who is also a Devon County Councillor for Exmouth acknowledged the Exeter City Councillor for St Loyes defection but didn’t call for a by-election to be called for that ward. However, she has been critical of Labour Exeter City Councillors voting to cancel the local elections in May. 

In September 2025, Danny Kruger, MP for East Wiltshire defected from Conservatives to Reform UK Limited. Last week, Robert Jenrick, MP for Newark defected from Conservatives to Reform UK Limited. On Sunday, Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford defected from Conservatives to Reform UK. If the voters would have wanted a Reform UK Limited MP, they’d have voted for one. 

Here are the formal results for each of these three constituencies: 

Newark General Election – July 2024: 

East Wiltshire General Election – July 2024: 

Romford General Election – July 2024: 

By not calling a by-election, these MPs have little regard to their constituents.  

The Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East hasn’t mentioned these defections on his social media.  However, the Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East has posted the petition for requesting by-elections to be called automatically when an MP defects. 

Please sign this petition if you believe that by-elections should be automatically triggered when MPs switch their political parties/allegiances.  

Yours sincerely,  

A cynical correspondent.  

Perhaps the most significant concerns Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

Cllr Brazil points out that LGR was was never part of Labour’s manifesto. Devolution was, but that’s now been kicked into the long grass.

Time for another U-turn! – Owl

Cllr Julian Brazil www.midweekherald.co.uk

I had three letters from ministers at the end of the year, writes Cllr Julian Brazil.

The first was from the Minister for Children and Families.

It’s good that he’s recognised the improvements we have been making, but like him, we understand this is just the beginning.

There is a long way to go, and we must remain laser-focused.

The threat of a trust model intervention still hangs over us.

It may be a legacy of over a decade of underperformance and failure, but the responsibility now lies with the new administration.

Invitation

I’ve been invited to a meeting with the minister.

I’m looking forward to it.

He wants to hear at first hand our plans.

We’ve been working on the strategy over the past few months.

It covers a whole raft of policies but at its core are prevention, early intervention and inclusion.

To get this right, we know we must work in partnership and that includes government.

I’m hoping it will be a two-way conversation.

More clarity around the whole Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) agenda.

Stability around funding and, of course, delivering these services in a rural area.

Cancelling Elections

The second letter was from the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness.

Slipped out just before the Christmas break, it was about cancelling local elections this coming May.

Dressed up as a scheme to help overworked councils embroiled in local government reorganisation (LGR) and save council taxpayers money: you couldn’t make it up.

They must think we’re stupid.

Everyone can see it’s a rather shabby attempt to pervert the course of democracy.

It sets an incredibly dangerous precedent; if you’re going to lose an election, cancel it.

To be fair, Plymouth City Council swiftly announced they would be going ahead with their elections.

It was the honourable thing to do.

Exeter voted to cancel, despite howls of protest outside the Guildhall by the residents the council purports to serve.

Here we are with a government trying to cancel elections because, they claim, it’s all becoming too complicated with LGR.

Of course, LGR was never part of their manifesto.

Devolution was, but that’s now been kicked into the long grass.

Why can’t they just admit they’ve got it wrong?

Many of us can see what they’re trying to achieve, and we agree with a lot of it, but the way they’re going about it smacks of total incompetence.

When you’re in a hole, as the saying goes, stop digging.

Instead, the government has got the JCB out.

Control Freakery

The third letter was from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

I don’t know if he actually wrote it, but it’s one of the most disingenuous letters I’ve ever read.

To be fair, that’s not what really riled me; we’re getting used to this.

It was the thinly disguised and unashamed threat to micromanage a council in Cambridge.

It’s exactly what one of his predecessors, Michael Gove, tried to do.

Even he backed down when faced with academic research.

Struggling with recruitment issues, particularly around planning and legal officers, the council introduced the innovative strategy of a four-day work week.

In many ways, mimicking the private sector.

Whatever one’s views about the four-day initiative, that’s not really the point.

The thing is, you have a local council, elected by local people, delivering services in the best way it thinks it can.

If they fail, they can be voted out by the same local people.

It’s called democracy.

How outrageous that a SoS starts trying to throw their weight around.

Maybe he should spend more time helping his own government; goodness knows they need it.

Despite the rain the BBC reported last night that the protest did take place.

Independent councillor, Melanie Martin, said: “This is a fantastic turnout considering the weather is so bad.

“It just goes to show how strongly people feel about this development of 700 houses.”

Exmo 20 –  3,500 responses have already raised concerns

Bradley Gerrard www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

Campaigners against plans for a monster 700-home development in Exmouth are trying to amplify opposition as the deadline for objections nears.

A Facebook group has been set up to try and publicise the plight, which is essentially vociferous opposition to a possible plan for up to 700 homes on the outskirts of the East Devon town.

The group, whose name is ‘Stop Exmo.20, Exmouth’ Supersize Development’ has alerted people to the deadline for responses, and even provided answers that residents can use to cut and paste into their objection.

East Devon residents are being asked for their views on the district’s local plan, which identifies areas where it is acceptable for homes to be built and commercial land to be created between now and 2042.

Residents have until midday on Monday 26 January to provide any comments on the plan, which can be submitted on a dedicated section of the council’s website known as Commonplace.

The site known as Exmo_20, which has courted the vast majority of opposition, would allow for the development of around 700 homes near St John in the Wilderness Church.

Even if the local plan is approved, developers would still need to submit planning applications for specific schemes, and these would need to comply with planning policy and secure the planning committee’s blessing to be approved.

Earlier this year, an initial public consultation on the local plan saw 3,500 responses from residents who raised a range of concerns.

But more than 1,100 of those were against the St John’s scheme.

Major fears related to potential harm to the nearby pebblebed heaths, which has four different designations aimed at protecting it, including being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Besides concerns from residents about the heaths, environmental organisations including Devon Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and Natural England also voiced their fears.

Some worried that the Grade II* listed St John in the Wilderness Church could be impacted by such a large development of homes, while others feared heightened flood risk due to the clay soils and upstream location relative to Withycombe Brook.

Members of the strategic planning committee, who are responsible for crafting the local plan, heard from members of the public at their July meeting, with the majority of those speakers outlining their opposition to the St John’s site.

Other issues have also been flagged by residents. A recent water cycle study, that assessed the efficacy of the district’s sewerage system and its ability to take on waste from more homes, has raised concerns as it suggests some treatment plants are at or near capacity, and at present would exceed capacity if more homes are added to the system without upgrades occurring.

In spite of vocal opposition, though, Exmo_20 has remained in the local plan.

The district council is trying to find locations for around 21,000 homes, and if it diluted or even removed the Exmo_20 site, it would have to find other places in the district to accommodate them.

There’s also further pressure in relation to government timelines; East Devon District Council is trying to ensure its local plan is submitted within a certain timeframe, because if it misses that deadline, then it might have to build a further 5,000 homes – taking it to 26,000 over the life of the plan.

“Hitting those higher housing figures would be extremely challenging,” Ed Freeman, assistant director for planning strategy and development management at East Devon District Council, has said.

“We don’t have a solution as to how we would hit those and so that’s important to understand.”

Other councils including Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council have stepped up since Exeter announced its decision to offer help with running the 2026 elections if needed.

But will Cllr “Turkey” Bialyk take these offers, or double down on his plotting for Exeter to “go it alone” (spin to cover his hostile takeover bid for big slices of neighbouring districts)?

Is he becoming another “LINO”, leader in name only? – Owl

Opponents unite to demand Exeter elections

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum have united in Exeter in a bid to overturn a decision to scrap the city’s 2026 council elections.

Earlier this week members of the city council’s ruling Labour group backed a move to get their leader Phil Bialyk (Exwick) to write to the government explaining his view that the polls should be called off.

A lengthy city council meeting heard that by not having the proposed elections for 13 seats on the council – eight of them Labour seats – the city would save a quarter of a million pounds and free up officers to prepare for local government reorganisation (LGR).

But furious opposition councillors – Greens, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Independents and Reform UK – said the move was undemocratic and denied the people of Exeter their right to elect their councillors.

Some also said the Labour group was ‘running scared’ of the elections, having done badly in the Devon County Council polls last year.

Leader of the Green group, Cllr Diana Moore (St Davids), said: “There must be something very wrong with the Labour leadership that opposition groups holding such a wide spectrum of views and political differences can unite to speak out against this unjustified assault on democracy in Exeter.”

The joint letter says the opposition parties have ‘low confidence’ that Cllr Bialyk will adequately express their views in his letter to local government minister Alison McGovern.

It goes on: “We have never once, since the wheels of LGR were set in motion, been presented with a single report to suggest that Exeter City Council lacked the resources to deliver both the May 2026 elections and a comprehensive LGR programme. 

“The decision by the leader to ask for a postponement is, in our view, not evidence based and appears to place the interests of the Labour Party above the need for the council going forward to have a democratic mandate.

“Residents in Exeter expect to be able to vote every year – that’s the way our system works. So annual elections are a right, not a privilege, for our residents. The whole episode is a disgraceful disregard of democracy.”

Other councils including Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council have stepped up since Exeter announced its decision to offer help with running the 2026 elections if needed.

As part of the opposition’s joint letter Conservative leader Cllr Peter Holland (St Loyes) said: “There are no compelling reasons – at this time – as to why the elections should be cancelled. It is my view, which is shared by the wider Conservative group here in the city, that it is morally and ethically wrong to cancel what are residents’ democratic rights to vote on a four-year cycle – outside of a national emergency such as war or a pandemic.”
 

“From the first knock on the door to alert us to the dangers, to the reception at the sports centre, the professional precision of all the agencies working together proved to be a textbook exemplar of how emergencies should be managed.

“It was truly inspiring to see the town, district and county councils working closely to ensure that there was calm reassurance and concern for the welfare of everyone.” – Cllr Wragg

How Exmouth bomb evacuees rallied together with fish and chips, wine and ‘holiday’ vibes

They had to sleep at a leisure centre but spirits were high

Molly Seaman and Shannon Brown Senior Reporter www.devonlive.com/

Officials spent the morning packing up the camping beds and tea mugs at the LED in Exmouth as the last of the bomb evacuees were allowed to return home.

It sounds like the start of a war-time novel but it was the reality for the thousands of residents evacuated from their homes when a 250kg bomb was found during dredging in Exmouth Marina on Wednesday, January 13.

The explosive was taken out to sea in the early hours of Friday morning (January 16) and detonated at around 8.12am. The 5,500 people evacuated are able to return to their homes and life is continuing as normal.

Businesses have been allowed to reopen along the waterfront today and children were able to return to their schools.

Despite the fear and worry felt by Exmouth residents, with one woman comparing it to coronavirus lockdown as the streets fell quiet, some found ways to lighten the atmosphere and brighten each other’s days.

In particular, praise has been piled on the LED leisure centre, which became a hub for residents with nowhere else to go, and housed around 120 people on Wednesday night.

Residents Lou and Sue, and their neighbour Gail, were evacuated from their homes and stayed at the LED while the cordon was in place.

Speaking about last night in the LED, Lou told the BBC: “Everybody’s been smiley faced, we’ve all enjoyed it. We bought a couple of bottles of wine last night and we’ve had fish and chips. I thought I was on holiday.”

A ‘party atmosphere’ was described on Thursday night, despite there only being around 20 people left in the temporary accommodation. Biscuits and chocolate were reportedly shared round, and people were chatting late into the night.

Lou continued in an interview with BBC Radio Devon: “We decided to stay in our own houses the first night, and then yesterday they came and said that [the risk] had gone up to a category 3, and we really must leave our houses.

“So with a struggle, we did leave our house because Gail said she was coming out as well and I don’t regret it for one minute, it’s been absolutely fantastic in here. I wasn’t going to leave but Sue persuaded me because she started crying, but I’m quite stubborn, but I know being ex-forces, I should have gone right away, but I didn’t.

“But it was brilliant, honestly, here, from the top to the bottom, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. They’ve treated us like gold.

“Anybody tells me that we’ve lost our spirit in this country, which I did believe, I think we’ve got it back, definitely, because I would rate last night as everybody coming together and smiling, having a laugh, having a joke. It was great.”

Several people said their experience put into context their night or two away compared to the prolonged ordeal people faced in past wartimes or during the current conflicts elsewhere in the world.

Sue added: “We’re lucky just to have [only] spent a night away. Those poor people have got nothing.”

Exmouth councillor Eileen Wragg was also among those evacuated. She told DevonLive: “What could have been a chaotic situation turned out to be the opposite.

“From the first knock on the door to alert us to the dangers, to the reception at the sports centre, the professional precision of all the agencies working together proved to be a textbook exemplar of how emergencies should be managed.

“It was truly inspiring to see the town, district and county councils working closely to ensure that there was calm reassurance and concern for the welfare of everyone.”

She said their efforts brought calm to what could have been a “distressing predicament’ and also commended the “immense courage and bravery” of the bomb disposal team.

Cllr Wragg added: “We are hugely grateful to all the service agencies and multitude of willing volunteers who helped to bring this frightening episode to a peaceful conclusion, albeit with a big bang.”

Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Nicki Leaper agreed there was a “real community spirit”.

She said: “I cannot thank residents of Exmouth enough. Their collective effort to get out of their homes was appreciated. We don’t take this lightly. We had to extend the cordon and I know how frustrating that can be. It’s people’s sanctuaries.

“The multi-agency partnership working over 72 hours, I’m so proud of all our partners. We are trained to do this.”

Councillor Paul Arnott, Deputy Leader of Devon County Council and Leader of East Devon District Council, said local Tesco branches also helped with deliveries of food and duvets. He praised all the organisations and volunteers, including the Red Cross and the town council, who helped to oversee the safe resolution of the incident.

As “Three Homes” Jenrick makes a comprehensively leaked defection to Reform, claiming Britain is “broken”, one of the biggest bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe in WW2 is safely taken from Exmouth Marina out to sea and detonated.

Council Leader Paul Arnott compliments everyone involved in the massive emergency task of dealing with the bomb and evacuating 2,500 properties.

The bomb is reported to have been one of the three largest used by the Luftwaffe at around 250Kg. Dredged out of the Marina (original dockyard) the bomb fusing mechanism had to be identified before a floatation collar could be attached. It was then lifted from the dredging barge, lowered into the sea on the 2am high tide, towed out to sea and detonated on the sea bed. Best video of the process can be found on ITVX.

Two and a half thousand properties had to be evacuated as the safety cordon was extended from 400 to 600 metres. The BBC reports, for example, that Emma Kessie, the manager of the LED leisure centre, used as the emergency evacuation centre in Exmouth, said about about 100 people stayed in the makeshift accommodation on Wednesday night and about 20 people on Thursday. The rest were found temporary accomodation.

Emma Kessie, worked a 20 hr shift on the first night and describes the scene in the leisure centre as follows:

“The people who were sleeping here or just sitting here for the day have been incredible and had such enthusiasm and positivity,” she said.

“We stayed up having teas and coffees, I was doing microwavable meals at three in the morning… it was just great, it was a great vibe.”

[NB Owl hates to say it but Google AI gives a fair summary of why East Devon Watch uses the nickname “Three Homes” for Robert Jenrick.]

Exeter City Council faces being run by a “zombie administration” according to critics of a decision by the Labour leader of the council to request the cancellation of May elections.

By Miles Davis Devon political reporter www.bbc.co.uk

The government has invited councils affected by the reorganisation of local government – which will see all district and county councils abolished – to ask to postpone elections to focus work on a transition to new unitary authorities.

Phil Bialyk, Labour leader of the council, said cancelling the election would save money and allow staff to focus on the reorganisation.

Michael Mitchell, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, said the council would now be a “zombie administration” without legitimacy.

Exeter is one of 23 councils across England known to be requesting cancellation of elections.

Bialyk told councillors he would be asking the government to cancel the May elections in Exeter at the end of a four-hour long heated debate on Tuesday.

Responding to the decision, Mitchell said: “I’m appalled we’ve got a situation where the people of Exeter are not being able to decide or renew their contract for the councillors of Exeter to carry forward the work of ECC until 2028.

“The danger is by this decision, by denying democracy at this stage, Labour are effectively creating a zombie administration made up of the walking dead – especially their eight councillors who should be standing for re-election and getting a fresh mandate on 7 May.”

Green Party councillor Tess Read said: “I think this is very disappointing news for the residents of Exeter – because there’s no justification for cancelling elections.

“It’s hard not to think this decision is politically motivated – we know that in a recent Devon County Council election Labour lost all its seats.

“Labour has eight seats to lose in this coming election in May – if it loses all those seats the Green Party is the biggest party if we take all those seats.”

Bialyk said: “I have to think about the staff – I have to think about the services in Exeter, I have to think about the capacity we need to have in order that we can get a unitary authority for Exeter and the surrounding areas.”

The government is currently considering various plans for how Devon should be carved up into new unitary authorities with elections to be held in May 2027 ahead of the new councils being launched in April 2028.

Bialyk said: “There will be elections in 2027 – that is the goal that I’m fighting for to make sure Exeter’s services are delivered in a sensible way.”

In response to accusations of being scared of losing seats, Bialyk said: “Nothing is certain – we’re convinced we’re making the right decision here.

“I’ll be judged on what Exeter looks like going forward and we will be putting forward proposals for all of that.”

No surprises then. 

Will reorganisation really be in place within a year and just how many councillors will they have – 39 or only nine as in the current county level divisions? (Currently Exeter City council comprises 39 councillors, representing 13 wards with three councillors per ward).

Will they have to ask for cancellation next year as well?- Owl

Exeter City Council will ask to cancel May elections

Miles Davis www.bbc.co.uk

Exeter City Council will ask the government to cancel elections that were due to take place in May.

City council members took part in a heated debate over whether to hold the elections after the government said it would consider requests for postponements from councils involved in a massive local government reorganisation.

A report prepared by the Labour-run authority said cancelling the elections would free up financial resources for “the work required to prepare for the transition to new unitary councils”.

Opposition parties were heavily critical of any possible cancellation but the council leader said he would be writing to the government to request a postponement.

In the reorganisation of local government, all district and county councils are being abolished with plans for new unitary authorities to come into existence from May 2028.

Michael Mitchell, Liberal Democrat group leader, spoke in favour of holding the election.

He said the government was offering the Labour Party in Exeter a “get-out-of-jail-free card” to avoid defeat in the elections which it should refuse.

Conservative group leader and member for St Loyes, Peter Holland, said it would be “morally and ethically wrong to cancel residents’ democratic rights”.

Diana Moore, Green Party leader, said people expected elections to take place and they were “not a privilege but a right”.

Reform member Alison Sheridan said Labour were “wiped out” in Exeter in the Devon County Council elections in 2025 and claimed Labour members were afraid of suffering the same fate in elections in May.

But postponing the elections in May “is not about denying democracy”, said Duncan Wood, a Labour cabinet member. “It is about ensuring when residents vote, they are voting for a council that will actually exist and will have the power to shape and deliver their services.”

Council leader Phil Bialyk said he had listened to the views of all councillors but wanted to request postponement to focus resources on the transition to new unitary authorities.

Members voted by 21 for, nine against and seven abstentions, to approve a recommendation to note the minister’s letter and make a response by 15 January.

The elections on 7 May would have been for 13 of the 39 Exeter City Council seats.

The council is currently controlled by Labour with 22 seats but power could have changed hands if elections go ahead.

The Green Party has seven seats and the Liberal Democrats have four, with the Conservatives, Independents and Reform UK all having two members each.

Of the 13 seats up for election in May, eight are held by Labour, two by the Greens and one each by the Liberal Democrats, The Conservatives and Reform UK.

Plymouth City Council could also have requested the cancellation of elections but chose not to.

Whatever the result of May elections, for a third of the seats in Plymouth, Labour will retain control of the council.

What interests Owl are the comments made by Exeter City Council’s leader, Phil Bialyk (Labour, Exwick) to the reporter after the meeting. These are reported in the last few paragraphs of the article.

Reading between the lines he is struggling to find the effort to put together a credible bid to create a new unitary authority centered on Exeter. This bid will need to include about a third of both East Devon and Teignbridge as well as the south west corner of Mid Devon. The reason for this “take over” is to assemble a population of around the 500,000 mark, the original target set by Angela Rayner for unitary status. Exeter on its own would only reach about a quarter of this. 

Cllr. Bialyk describes this as “Exeter going solo”. That is pure spin. Were his proposal to be accepted by the government, Exeter would be only a minority part of the new authority. Cllr. Phil’s hostile takeover bid would inevitably backfire. Whatever happens in the proposed local government reorganisation. Exeter (and Labour) will lose control. 

Cross-party backing for Exeter elections to progress but some question cost and rationale of in-person meeting.

Bradley Gerrard www.devonlive.com

Unanimous opposition emerged at a Devon council against the prospect of elections in Exeter being cancelled this year.

Members of Liberal Democrat-run Devon County Council expressed an uncommon level of unanimity in the chamber on the issue, clearly expressing a view that the scheduled May elections for Labour-controlled Exeter City Council should progress as planned.

The government has invited 64 councils in England to say if they would like elections postponed this year, and has invited comments from town halls.

The ultimate decision will be made by Westminster, which made the offer to councils due to concerns from some about the pressure on local officials of running an election at a time when they are also on the cusp of a massive reorganisation.

The letter from government was addressed to leaders of councils with elections in May 2026, meaning Devon County Council does not technically appear to be a recipient.

But its leader, Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge ), called a special meeting to debate the issue in a bid to formulate a comprehensive letter to government about its views.

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Devon County Council does not have any Labour councillors, and so some queried the necessity for a meeting where the party couldn’t respond to comments, while another questioned whether the whole thing could have been done on Teams.

Exeter City Council’s leader, Phil Bialyk (Labour, Exwick) sat in the public gallery watching proceedings.

“I intended to write a pretty scathing response to the minister’s letter but I wanted to hear the views of the full council,” Cllr Brazil said.

“I’m hoping we can come to a consensus which will give more strength as we will be speaking as one.”

He added that he felt that postponing elections was “instinctively the wrong thing to do”, and that the letter had also prompted further concern about the pace at which local government reorganisation is being proposed. This is the process whereby all councils will be unitary, meaning Devon’s existing system of a county council and districts will be abolished.

“Local democracy thrives on regular, timely elections, and any disruption must be justified and accompanied by full transparency,” said Conservative member Councillor Dermot McGeough ( Northam ).

“The Labour government is putting so much pressure on our council, and I don’t agree with local government reorganisation – it is total madness as the residents of Devon will pick up the bill.

“So I fully support [Cllr Brazil] here.”

Others echoed fears of “local democracy being undermined” and thousands of voters across the country potentially being “disenfranchised”.

But Reform UK’s leader, Councillor Michael Fife Cook (Yelverton Rural), while in agreement the election should go ahead, queried whether the meeting had been necessary.

“I want to draw attention to the elephant in the room, which is that we are not voting on this but just giving our words, so I believe we could have saved the public money and done this on Teams or via email,” he said.

“We have no Labour councillors here, so the likelihood that we would all probably agree that democracy is something we want to vote for was high.

“The leader of the council knows he has my support on this issue but I do worry about the cost and I’m not happy we’re spending money this way.”

Councillor Andy Ketchin (Green Party, St David’s & Haven Banks), who also represents the Newtown and St Leonard’s ward on Exeter City Council, said the Devon meeting was “like kicking a puppy”.

“Should we be here discussing an election we have no role in,” he said.

“It’s playing politics. Labour isn’t here to defend itself or make their case.”

But he criticised the prospect of the election being cancelled, claiming it wouldn’t be to save money as “Exeter, like all other councils, has been trimming its budget for time immemorial”.

“And it won’t be because it is too difficult to organise as every year there is help to run what is a well-oiled machine,” he added.

Reform’s Councillor Sue Davies (Hatherleigh & Chagford) added it would have been “quicker to do a show of hands”.

“Many in Devon will be wondering why we are having this debate given the expense incurred, but it is worth remembering that we represent the whole of the county, and as Cllr Brazil pointed out, if we have a general consensus that the prospect of postponed elections in Exeter is wrong, then that would be a good thing for the council and Devon.”

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter (Wearside and Topsham) the leader of the Conservative group, said he supported Cllr Brazil in the move to “resist the cancellation of any elections”.

“I agree we have been poorly treated by national governments of all colours, and we have witnessed, during this local government reorganisation episode, such a rush, and so I support the view to get it right and slow things down.

“On this matter alone, I stand firmly with you leader.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, Exeter City Council’s Cllr Bialyk said members of Devon County Council had “interpreted the minister’s letter for their own political reasons and I understand that”.

“They are trying to make a jibe at Labour, and Labour in Exeter in particular,” he said.

“But they are all missing the point of what the minister is asking, and also, it is the minister that makes the decision to postpone the election, not me or the city council.”

Cllr Bialyk added that all of Exeter City Council’s members would have an opportunity next week to discuss the issue, and that he would encapsulate those views in the response to government.

“But this is about capacity,” he added. “Devon County Council does not like the fact Exeter wants to go solo and become unitary, they hate it and loathe it and will put every obstacle in our way,” he said.

“They want us to be distracted but we have a lot of work to put in [ahead of local government reorganisation] as we are not already a unitary council like Plymouth.

“We have got to go from a standing start and it will use a lot of resource, and the minister’s letter talks about capacity and that’s what I intend to address.”

Exeter City Council will hold its meeting on the issue on Tuesday (13 January).

A Budleigh correspondent points out that storm Goretti has changed the beach profile at Budleigh to reveal the concrete conduit outlet at the western end of Marine Parade. As described by Peter Williams, this dumps the Brook + sewage from 5 CSO’s onto the beach. See ‘Budleigh Sewage Hotspots Map’, 

Until around the 1970s (according to the Budleigh source) this was a prominent structure on the beach projecting some 6-9 feet above the pebbles. The end had a grill fastened to it (so say) to stop little boys from climbing into it. It is now full of pebbles and it doesn’t look in good repair.

Since then it has been mostly buried as the eastward long shore drift has built a much bigger pebble beach in front of the town, leading the Environment Agency to describe Budleigh as a “self protecting” beach. Each time there is a cliff fall to the west, more pebbles are dropped onto the beach.

[The Budleigh correspondent also says that the storm has revealed WWII “tank traps” at the bottom of Steamer Steps (big blocks of concrete)]

Whilst posting on sewage Owl wishes to add East Devon Watch’s tributes to Geoff Crawford, one of the founders of the Exmouth anti pollution campaign “ESCAPE”, who sadly passed away suddenly on December 28th. He was an inspiration and Owl understands that other members of ESCAPE will be relentless in honouring his legacy, continuing the work he started.

Devon County Council to debate election delay proposal

Devon county councillors will meet this week to debate a proposal to delay this year’s scheduled elections.

Bobby Angelov www.midweekherald.co.uk

The Government’s plan to postpone elections in up to 64 local councils has sparked criticism in Devon, where it has been described as “incredibly dangerous” and undemocratic by the county council.

Councillor Julian Brazil, leader of Devon County Council, said: “Government ministers are putting political self-interest first, rather than democracy.”

The proposal, set to be debated by Devon County Council on Friday, January 9, has been justified by the Government as necessary due to ongoing local government reorganisation.

Ministers argue that delays are needed to ensure a “smooth and safe transition to new councils,” as affected authorities may be abolished or restructured in the near future.

Councillor Brazil said: “The Government says delaying elections will free up resources to work on reorganisation, but councils, in Devon, that’s Plymouth City Council and Exeter City Council, have elections almost every year.

“They are routine and resourced for, unlike reorganisation, which is rushed, wasting millions of pounds, and disrupting services.”

He warned that cancelling elections is reminiscent of anti-democratic practices elsewhere.

Cllr Brazil said: “Cancelling the opportunity for people to have their say in elections is right out of the Putin school of politics.”

Plymouth City Council has already confirmed its elections will go ahead as planned in May.

Councillor Brazil said it would be a “disgrace” if Exeter residents were denied the chance to choose their representatives.

It’s hoped there will be consensus across the groups to stand united in opposition to the Government’s proposal during the debate at County Hall in Exeter.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, leader of the Green and Independent Group, said: “Democracy, which lies at the heart of managing our public services can only be truly representative by a fair election process.

“Changing the rules to simply suit a government’s whim undermines public faith in politics.

“These elections in Exeter and Plymouth need to go ahead as scheduled.”

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Leader of the council’s Conservative group, said: “I stand firmly with Cllr Brazil on this matter and completely agree with him – the elections need to go ahead.

“There is no justification for postponing them and denying our citizens their democratic right to have a say on who runs their council.”

The full council meeting will take place at County Hall, Exeter, on Friday at 11am.

Empty second homes are delaying Devon properties from getting gas restored

Carl Eve www.devonlive.com

Empty second homes where owners are miles away and unreachable may cause delays to gas supplies being restored.

As thousands of homes across the south Devon area continue to struggle without gas, just as the mercury drops thanks to a cold weather front, teams of workers are having to go building to building to ensure the supply can be safely switched back on.

Since January 3, when a gas main was damaged by what Wales and West Utilities called a “third party” in a field at Belle Hill, near Kingsbridge, engineers have worked around the clock to try and get supplies back to homes.

The firm said that by the evening of January 4, engineers had already visited 90 per cent of the properties affected.

The company explained that although the main repair was now finished, the process of safely restoring gas to individual properties was still ongoing.

It added that workers must visit every property twice – once to turn the gas supply off and then, when the network is ready, a second time to turn it back on and relight appliances.

However, thanks to an increase in holiday homes and second homes in parts of South Devon, this means that there is no immediate access to some residential properties.

A spokesperson for Wales and West Utilities explained today [January 5] that places like Salcombe – which, according to parish records, has 574 second homes and 299 holiday lets, 45.3 per cent of the total dwellings in the parish – the owners are not present.

They said the firm had put out a plea to local letting agencies, estate agents, and keyholders to get in touch with the firm “so that we can arrange access to any properties that they may be responsible for.”

The spokesperson said they had had a “really good response to that, so we’d have to thank people who’ve responded – but obviously it’s still important that we get to visit these properties as well as part of restoring a supply.

“What it means, we need to keep sending engineers back to these properties to try and gain the access so that we can isolate the supply.

“So that means they’re not able to be focussing on restoring supplies to other customers.

“It just delays us getting the kind of number of properties that we need isolated before we can commence the safe restoration of the properties.”

In a later update on Monday evening, a spokesperson added: “Since early this morning, our teams have been working tirelessly to restore supplies to customers impacted by the third-party damage caused to our gas main near Kingsbridge.

“We have over 100 engineers – many drafted in from elsewhere across our network – working across the areas to restore supplies as quickly as possible.

“This afternoon, we completed the restoration of supplies in Malborough. The only properties remaining are those where there has been nobody at the property when we have called. We have tried these properties on a number of occasions and have left a card with information on how to contact us. We will arrange for an engineer to call to restore the supply to those individual properties as soon as contact is made with us.

“We have also made good progress in Kingsbridge today. Our engineers have been working their way around the properties there, and they will continue to work late into this evening restoring supplies, before continuing again first thing tomorrow morning.

“In Salcombe, thanks to the positive response we have had today to our plea to access the empty properties there, we are now in a position to be able to begin commissioning the gas network. Firstly, we will need to monitor ‘no access’ properties to ensure that there are no gas escape traces within these properties. Once we are satisfied that there are no escapes, we will then be able to commence the process of restoring supplies.

“We continue to appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to restore supplies and value people’s continued support in enabling us to gain access to their properties.”

There seems to be a bit of foot dragging in Exeter about committing to May elections.

As Owl has already pointed out, on the basis of the County elections, Labour is set to lose any council representation outside the Plymouth enclave. In other words, it will lose control of Exeter City in the government’s proposed reorganisation even if it gets its way in absorbing some of the surrounding districts into an “Exeter based unitary authority”.

In these circumstances, one could question whether Exeter has any substantive mandate to pursue such a notion in the first place.

The press article below has some interesting quotes from County Councillors on the proposed reorganisation.

Owl’s personal view is that the proposed timescales are totally unrealistic especially given the wide divergence of view about how Devon should be carved up, the need to find suitable offices, etc. [Unless the government goes “full Surrey” and simply divides Devon north/south into just two unitary authorities with Plymouth in the western half and Exeter in the eastern half. The two cities would then be obvious site for the councils.]

Pressure mounts on Exeter ahead of  crunch election debate

Bradley Gerrard, Local Democracy Reporter www.devonairradio.com

Pressure is mounting on Exeter ahead of a deadline linked to whether the city will seek to postpone its elections.

A crunch meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday just over a mile from the city council’s headquarters about the issue, and opposition politicians have submitted a motion urging them to go ahead.

A special meeting has been called by Devon County Council, which wants all its 60 councillors to form a view about the prospect of Exeter City Council postponing elections in the city.

And Councillor Diane Moore (Green Party, St David’s), a member of Exeter City Council, has submitted a motion urging the council to honour the scheduled elections in May.

Local government minister Alison McGovern wrote to 64 councils in December stating that Westminster had been contacted by several councils that had raised concerns about their ability to run elections amid the ongoing process of local government reorganisation.

That process will see two-tier areas, such as Devon, where both county councils and district councils operate in the same geographic area, changed to unitary councils that will oversee all services in their areas.

Elections for the new unitary councils when they are formed are pencilled in for 2027, and are expected to begin operating in 2028.

“I’m pretty sure there will be cross-party condemnation [by Devon County Council councillors] of the government for meddling with democracy, which is dangerous,” Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge), the leader of the county council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Cllr Moore sent a notice of motion today (Monday 5 January) in a bid to discuss the issue at Exeter City Council’s full council meeting next week.

It calls on the city council to “resolve to inform government that elections will take place as scheduled for Exeter City Council on 7 May 2026”.

“As the leader has been silent on the issue, I think it’s time councillors discussed it,” Cllr Moore added.

After Devon County Council’s meeting on Friday, it’s likely Cllr Brazil will write to the government to express that council’s view.

Cllr Brazil added that Friday’s meeting at County Hall could also be a platform for the wider issues of local government reorganisation, and devolution, the process through which areas are supposed to secure directly elected mayors.

“The government promised devolution in its manifesto, and not local government reorganisation, but we’re getting the latter and not the former,” Cllr Brazil added.

“Is it a coincidence that the mayoral set-up costs government money and the local government reorganisation doesn’t but does cost councils money? I don’t think so and I believe that’s why reorganisation is going ahead.”

Some areas, such as Surrey, have been told how their councils should be reorganised yet have not been informed about the prospects for directly elected mayors yet, which is something they were expecting.

In terms of scheduled elections this year, councils have complained that the process of developing reorganisation proposals has been extremely resource intensive, and that holding elections in May – just before they could be told how they have to reorganise themselves – could be problematic.

“Now that we have received all proposals, it is only right that we listen to councils who are expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils who may be shortly abolished,” Ms McGovern’s letter said.

“We have also received representations from councils concerned about the cost to taxpayers of holding elections to councils that are proposed to shortly be abolished.

“Previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process. We have now received requests from multiple councils to postpone their local elections in May 2026.”

Ms McGovern said the government “will listen” to representations from council leaders who believe postponing their local elections makes sense.

Both Plymouth City Council and Exeter City Council have scheduled elections in May 2026, and while Plymouth was quick to confirm their poll would go-ahead, there has been no formal confirmation either way from Exeter.

Cllr Brazil has criticised the notion of councils being allowed to postpone elections, and was opposed to the prospect at the county council when the former Conservative administration requested the postponement of the 2025 local elections. That request was not accepted by the government.

Exeter City Council has a full council meeting on Tuesday 13 January – just two days before it has to formally tell the government whether it wishes to postpone its elections or not.

The agenda for that meeting has not yet been published, so it is not clear whether the city council will dedicate time in that meeting to the issue of postponing the elections, although Cllr Moore’s motion is likely to force the issue onto the agenda.

Last week, a spokesperson for the city council said nothing had yet been decided about the May 2026 polls.
 

The government plans to abolish Crime and Police Commissioners when their current terms end in May 2028.

Our selfie girl says:

 “I have decided to step away from party politics and become an Independent.

“I believe it will enable me to fight to secure the policing resources we have in Devon and Cornwall – 43 per cent of which is funded by all of us through our council tax.

Why now? Has she something else in mind? – Owl

The PCC for Devon and Cornwall to serve as Independent

Bobby Angelov www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

The Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has announced that she is stepping down from the Conservative Party.

Alison Hernandez, who represents Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, will now serve the remainder of her term as an Independent, citing concerns about national changes to policing oversight and a desire to act without political influence.

Ms Hernandez, who is currently serving her third term after first being elected in 2016, said: “I have decided to step away from party politics and become an Independent.

“I believe it will enable me to fight to secure the policing resources we have in Devon and Cornwall – 43 per cent of which is funded by all of us through our council tax.

“The imminent Government white paper on policing worries me.

“Rushed timescales, work done in secret with little consultation, this feels like something being done to the police and the people, not being done with or for us.

“And the timing of the abolition of PCCs, again not planned, makes me anxious for our area.

“We cannot afford for party politics to get in the way of ensuring we all work together to get the best deal for the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”

The change comes amid major national reforms.

In November 2025, the Government announced the planned abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) when their current terms end in May 2028.

Additional policing reforms are expected to be outlined in a forthcoming Government white paper.

Ms Hernandez has assured officers, staff, volunteers, and the public that the priorities set out in the current Police and Crime Plan will remain in place, and that her focus remains on representing the needs of the force area.

Her office is supported by a non-political team led by a Chief Executive, who will continue to carry out their statutory duties and hold the police service to account throughout her term.

Further information on the Government’s plans for the future of police governance is expected in the upcoming white paper.