Cllr. Paul Arnott has set the record straight on the twists and turns in Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) negotiations that have taken place in Devon in the last year and a half. This has been revealed in papers released for the 25 February EDDC council meeting in response to a question from Tory group leader Cllr. Mike Goodman. 

Backstory Paul Arnott’s ring side seat started in 2024 when East Devon held the chair of the Devon Districts’ Forum as Leader EDDC. Despite denying rumours as late as October 2024 that LGR would be attempted (it was not in Labour’s Manifesto), councils were instructed in December to prepare plans by the following March. Tory controlled Devon County Council (DCC) immediately proposed cancelling the May elections so as not to distract from their “fast track devolution” plan. This was turned down by the government as Owl reported in February (2025) “First Devon county loses bid to cancel elections and join fast track to devolution now its bottom of the league for funding”. The Tories lost control of DCC in the subsequent elections and newly elected a county councillor Paul Arnott became Deputy Leader DCC whilst remaining Leader EDDC.

Cllr Mike Goodwin’s question follows up a critical press article he wrote in October last year (referenced) below.

Cllr. Paul Arnott’s reply reads:

As leader of the Council I am very glad to take the opportunity provided by Cllr Goodman to address the matter of LGR, which sits in the wider context of his role as Chair of the Devon Area Conservatives. Cllr Goodman has offered implied criticism of my conduct which he has been aware I have been unable to answer until after submission. [See Devon authority changes need to be clear and coherent, Sidmouth Herald last October]. It is worth noting that at no time has he attempted to discuss this with me.

1. The context in which Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) sits is worth recalling. Although Devolution and Strategic Mayoral Authorities were in the July 2024 Labour manifesto, LGR was not. As late as the Local Government Association Conference in Harrogate in October 2024, ministers were denying rumours that LGR would be attempted. 

2. In December 2024, all councils were written to be MHCLG to say they would be required to prepare outline plans for LGR by March. 

3. Cllr Goodman’s Conservative County administration (he has been Devon chair since January), instead of doing substantial preparatory work, at first attempted in February to cancel the May 2025 County elections which they feared they would lose. (They went on to do so, down from over 40/60 members to 7.) They wanted to turn Devon & Torbay into a single megaunitary, even though this had explicit dissent from Torbay, which would give cover to their “cancelling” democracy. 

4. This outrageous attempt to rob the people of Devon of the right to vote and to earn themselves a further year, perhaps two, of unelected power was denied them by the government. The legacy problem they had thus created is that they had not worked up any credible proposal from Devon CC for the end of March. 

5. For the calendar year of 2024, East Devon held the chair of the Devon Districts’ Forum. I was able to have many discussions which made a number of risk factors in devising a response from EDDC obvious to me.

• The likely attempt, soon proven, that the Conservatives at DCC would attempt to cancel elections 
• on the basis of conversations and common understanding, that Labour Exeter were likely to come up with a Unitary plan which would hugely disadvantage the people of both East Devon and wider Devon, and that they had the ear of the Labour government 
• that Conservative Torbay’s wish was always primarily to stay as a Unitary.

This was a febrile set of circumstances in which politically the two traditional parties of power were likely to favour self-interest.

6. This was unacceptable. The chair of the DDF passed to West Devon in January 2025, and I was happy to work with Districts’ Leaders and CEOs in the context of the above to devise a plan based not on self-interest but in the public interest. The idea emerged of:

• respecting Plymouth’s current status 
• of 4 councils combining into a new unitary, being South Hams, Teignbridge, Torbay and West Devon 
• of 5 councils combining into a second new unitary, being East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon and Torridge

7. This was devised in good faith, meeting the population numbers seemingly required and having many other strengths. The obvious concern in the 4:5:1 was that Torbay were not very committed to the 4 (ultimately, they did not support it) and that Exeter were wholly uncommitted to the 5 (ultimately, they too did not support the 4:5:1)

8. In April 2025, the government responded to the various draft submissions, stating that they required full and final ideas by the end of November 2025 

9. In May 2025, County elections were held. The Conservatives lost control (now 7/60) and Reform are 16/60 with no prospect of an administration. In a scenario very nearly mirroring the Democratic Alliance at East Devon, the Liberal Democrats took control of County with NOC but with good relations with the Greens and Independents. 

10.Given my own experience in LGR matters in Devon and as a leader for half a decade, the County Leader asked me to step into the void of the LGR PH at County. This provided me with no conflict of interest, although of course care must be taken. It was known that EDDC would continue to develop the Council instruction to explore 4:5:1. 

11.On being re-elected Leader at EDDC for a sixth term in May 2025, I announced that a new Deputy Leader John Loudoun would lead in internal and external discussions around developing 4:5:1. This has been immaculately observed and I give personal thanks to John and our officers for their excellent work.

12.Unfortunately, on taking up my role in late May, just six months ago with submission looming, it soon became apparent that County had been left without any political direction of travel at all by the outgoing Conservatives. My ask of their officers was to look at 4:5:1 as an option, and also to look at a single Unitary respecting the existing Unitaries of Plymouth and Torbay. This ask arose from evidence presented at County of a sincerely perceived risk of disaggregating children’s and adults’ services into two.

13.While the evidence was being assessed at both the Districts and at County, I am proud that I worked very hard to try and make up for the dreadful democratic deficit looming through the abolition of the Districts by developing the structural and policy concepts for Neighbourhood Area Committees. My intention was and remains that these should be put in place under any future option chosen by the government. 

14.By September 2025, it was becoming clear that in all good faith the Districts, under advice from KPMG and others continued to favour 4:5:1. Meanwhile, the County, itself using sound internal and external advice, favoured 9:1:1. The most fundamental difference in opinions was around interpretation of shared data re social services. There is nothing wrong with such a difference of view which may have arisen from each idea engaging with the data stressing alternative fundamentals. There is nothing awry in this, and it has been common in LGR across England.

15.We then entered the period where submission decisions would need to be made across all Devon authorities. Cllr Goodman errs when he said I “proposed” the idea of 9:1:1 from the County perspective. That was the Leader seconded by another member of Cabinet. I abstained at both councils. I was content to explain the idea of 9:1:1, however, and the people of East Devon and Devon had every right to hear and consider its merits and demerits. Anyone paying attention would have seen my repeated public statements that ONLY 4:5:1 and 9:1:1 observed the key exam question which was that any proposal was required to consider and offer proof that it could work for ALL the authority areas across Devon. I spoke in praise of both proposals only last Friday at DCC Full Council, and have done so consistently including in meetings with DALC and others.

16.The suspected proposals from Labour authorities duly came to pass – for a hugely expanded Plymouth (which is at least an experienced unitary), a hugely expanded Exeter (a city council whose proposed boundary expansions make little sense) and in Labour’s joint submission, an expanded Torbay – which Torbay doesn’t want. The rest of us in Labour’s vision are put in the obviously non-viable “Rural & Coastal” 

17.To answer Cllr Goodman’s question. Despite his attempts to personalise this in council and in the press, I am proud that the two councils I have been elected to have acted impeccably in the last six months to devise proposals which consider the common good of all Devonians, and that we have done so in a situation where both the Conservatives and Labour have pursued “I’m alright, Jack” policies and proposals. 

18.As he knows, the Secretary of State will now consider which proposals will go to stakeholder consultation in the new year. In my view, it is to be hoped that the SoS has the independence of mind to include both 4:5:1 and 9:1:1 as options. I am pleased that both have been put forward.