In the same Spotlight interview that Devon’s Lib Dem Leader warmly embraced Burnham’s plans to give local leaders more control over economic development, investment and public services, Cllr Tudor Evans went decidedly “off message”.

The leader of Plymouth City Council, Labour’s Tudor Evans, said he thought it was “likely” that plans for an expanded Plymouth and an expanded Exeter would be approved but councils needed to take the approach to a directly-elected mayor one step at a time.

Evans said: “Can we find out first what powers are actually on offer, what money is on offer and what powers the mayor would have, as opposed to the local authorities the mayor would have to rely upon to deliver so much of their programme.”

Owl, who watched the live broadcast, was left with the distinct impression that Cllr Evans prefers to be a “big fish in a small pond” and is uncomfortable with the notion of playing second fiddle to any “Strategic Authority Mayor”.

Exeter City Council Leader Cllr Phil Bialyk claims Burnham’s commitment to local growth, housing, and stronger communities reflects the ambitious Exeter expansion plans he has championed for many years.

As for it being likely that plans for an expanded Plymouth and an expanded Exeter will be imposed soon against local discord, who knows? Rewiring Britain is Andy Burnham’s big idea so it is likely that most existing ideas from the “ancient regime” will be swept off the table.

Here is a quote from Andy Burnham’s keynote Manchester Speech:

The Greater Manchester way is based on strong partnership between all sectors: public, private, community, voluntary, academic, faith and our trade unions.

We ask everyone to face the same way and then pull in that same direction together.

Don’t bank on quick decisions; he will want to start from a clean sheet- Owl

He wants Devon to be first in the queue but criticises Rayner’s local government reorganisation plans in the National press.

A week ago BBC Spotlight featured interviews with local leaders on Burnham’s plans to shift decision-making power away from Whitehall. Creating a ‘Number 10’ in the North and giving local leaders more control over economic development, investment and public services.

In that interview Julian Brazil, Leader Devon County Council, warmly welcomed the general idea and said he wanted Devon to be first in the queue to get a directly-elected mayor and was firing off a letter to Burnham to make the request.

Brazil said: “I think it would make a massive difference, I’ve always said this country was far too centralised.

“The money we spend from government, we spend a lot more efficiently than central government can because we’re closer to the ground and we know what needs doing.

“Why would they know – it’s London – what do they know about Devon? Not a lot from what we can see.”

His view was shared by Torbay Council’s Conservative leader, David Thomas.

Deputy leader of Reform at Devon County Council, Neil Stevens, said he would not “back devolution blindly”. “You need to show us the cost, you need to show us the detail and you need to show us if it’s going to add any layers of bureaucracy.”

Toby Parkins, the interim CEO of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce said: “We saw that at the end of the Shared Prosperity Fund mayoral authorities actually received a funding package and Cornwall didn’t.

Parkins added that the introduction of a mayor could lead to “better decision making as opposed to an old style of council where they’re doing things the way they’ve always done them”.

However, Julian Brazil followed this up with a further interview in the Times this week expanding on his criticism of Angela Rayner’s plans to reorganise local councils by scrapping district councils:

Leaders in Devon claim plans to reorganise local authorities carry a huge upfront bill and may disrupt social care, children’s services and growth:  Fiona Hamilton www.thetimes.com

Andy Burnham is being urged to scrap Labour’s complex plans to rip up local authorities after analysis showed they could cost up to £1.5 billion.

The prime minister in waiting has been told that the funding could instead be used to support about 480,000 young people into work across England or to shore up key areas, such as social care and child services.

Labour has claimed its overhaul of local government, under which it plans to abolish the “two-tier” system of county councils sitting on top of district councils, will increase efficiency. However, critics warn it involves high upfront costs and massive restructuring and funds could be better spent on improving services.

A fresh analysis by Devon county council showed that the reorganisation, the biggest of local government in half a century, would cost at least an estimated £718.5 million but could be as much as £1.5 billion. The council analysed business cases and cost evaluations related to the 21 areas that were preparing for reorganisation.

Julian Brazil, the council leader, has been a vocal critic of the reorganisation. He told The Times: “The best-case scenario in Devon alone is £50 million, but other options we’re looking at a cost of £80 million. For that we could get 16,000 young people into work. Does Andy Burnham want to get young people into work or does he want to arrange the deckchairs? It’s a no-brainer.”

Devon county council claimed that much of the cost of the reorganisation would go to consultants and redundancy settlements for senior staff.

The reorganisation programme, set out two years ago by Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, has been mired in controversy. Councils have warned of escalating costs and the government is braced for a series of legal challenges.

In June Steve Reed, the local government secretary, was accused of gerrymandering after he overruled senior officials to side with Labour MPs in drawing boundaries for new councils, picking options that critics said would benefit Labour. The government has rejected the allegations.

Devon county council warned that the estimate of £1.5 billion could increase further if ministers adopted more expensive structural models than those proposed locally.

Brazil said the money would be better spent on improving the prospects of young people who were not in employment, education or training (Neets). An equivalent investment in the Youth Guarantee model would support about 480,000 young people into work across England, half the number of Neets.

Brazil has also said that reorganisation could fragment the authority’s children’s services and disrupt improvements.

“At a time when families are struggling and councils and the government are stretched, we should be investing every pound in frontline support, especially for our young people, not pouring it into an expensive structural shake-up that risks damaging services,” he said.

“We could transform lives, strengthen our economy and give hope to a generation, rather than spend it on bureaucracy that hits local services and people in the pocket.”

Brazil said he was supportive of Burnham’s message of supporting young people, more power for regions and boosting the economy through private-public partnership. He found Burnham’s vision to be “encouraging and optimistic”, he said, adding: “At last a Westminster politician understands the relationship between local and national government.

“This is a real opportunity for him to put his money where his mouth is. Let us work out how best to deliver the services for local people and at what level.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “This is speculation as no final decisions have been made.

“We are providing £63 million to councils to support with up-front costs of local government reorganisation, which will create long-term savings by reducing waste, and will speed up the construction of new homes and infrastructure, as well as boosting regional growth to put more money in peoples’ pockets.”