Erm, because you don't get a say? It will undermine democracy. 

Hailed as a 'Devolution of Powers' from Westminster  each devoluted Region or Combined Authority will have a Mayor, who would be ultimately held accountable and responsible.   Why is one person to be a scapegoat for the decisions of many?

As an example, lets look at a South Yorkshire Combined Authortiy:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-34414584

"As part of the deal, a Sheffield City Region mayor will be elected in 2017.

The mayor will be responsible for transport budgets and strategic planning.

The agreement means the Sheffield City Region will also have access to a pot of government money - £30m a year over 30 years - enabling Sheffield to boost local growth and invest in local manufacturing and innovation.

The mayor will chair meetings for Sheffield City Region Combined Authority.

The city region is comprised of the nine local authority areas of Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Doncaster, North East Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield."

Whats wrong with that?   Almost a third of the population of that area will be unable to vote and elect the Mayor,  outline areas or those out on a limb will have no or very little say on what the Mayor's and his Devolted areas decisions.

Take the Leeds Diva Deal : (not the leash)

http://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/News/Articles/WYCA%...

All sounds very positive, but take away the sound-bites of how much funding regions are to get and compare them with the 40%  CUTS imposed on Local Authorities: 

"Councils have had their government funding cut by 40% since 2010 and local government is certain to be in the firing line again when Osborne publishes his spending review in November. Departments where spending is unprotected, such as local government, have been told to prepare plans for cuts worth as much as 40% of budgets.

But the LGA fears the Treasury is not making allowance for the added costs local authorities already face. Councils in England and Wales spend more than £50bn a year, but a new LGA analysis estimates thatthey face extra, unfunded costs worth £9.9bn by 2019-20.

A figure of £3.6bn comes from what the LGA describes as “business as usual” costs: extra costs incurred through inflation and through factors such as demographic change, which mean care costs are rising because of the growing number of elderly people.

But the LGA says councils will face annual extra costs worth £6.3bn by the end of this parliament as a result of the impact of government policies for which local authorities have not been reimbursed.

One of the key ones relates to planning rules. In a bid to promote home ownership, the government has said that developers building starter homes for first-time buyers will be exempt from section 106 agreements, the rules which allow councils to impose a levy to fund affordable housing. The LGA says that this change alone could cost councils £3bn by the end of the decade."

The Big Ask : Carl Les of NYCC has concerns "North Yorkshire leader Carl Les told LGC he did not want the county to “lose” its three districts and said a Yorkshirewide combined authority would give the county a “home”. He acknowledged that devolution to such a large area was a “big ask” of government. A Yorkshire combined authority would cover a population of 5m. The letter said it would make “one of the largest economic powerhouses outside of London” contributing more than £90bn to the national economy every year."

Don't be fooled by Osborne's blushes as the Devo deals are being rushed through,  redder than Ed? Or over a barrel?

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/13893352.Over_a_barrel_on_devo...

"The Labour council chiefs are in a Catch 22. They don't want elected mayors and they certainly don't want to be party to the further public sector cuts which are on the way, but they also don't want to be left with nothing.

Instead of a devolution celebration, we, therefore, have a most unsatisfactory "deal or no deal" squabble. Mr Osborne talks of history being made and the "unstoppable momentum" of the Northern Powerhouse, while the council leaders insist that nothing is concrete yet.

They say the "deals" are no more than "proposed agreements" and will only be sealed if there is public support and "fair funding" for the region in November's Comprehensive Spending Review." source http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/13893352.Over_a_barrel_on_devo...

Public support?   Don't forget, devoluted areas cut across electoral boundaries - you may not get a say.

What has this to do with electoral Boundaries? Parliament is currently undergoing a Boundary Review : To cut MP's from 650 to 600.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/19/jeremy-corbyn-seeks-to-h...

The 2018 Review

Had it been implemented, the 2013 Review would have made dramatic changes to many constituency boundaries.

Some argued that these would have been disruptive and administratively clumsy because constituency and local government would no longer have aligned in many areas.

Since the 2018 Review must be conducted under the same Rules, it is unlikely that these concerns can be addressed fully unless primary legislation is passed to change the Rules.

A particularly restrictive element of the existing Rules highlighted in a March 2015 Report of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee was the requirement that the size of the electorate in all constituencies (with four exceptions) be within 5% of the electoral quota.

The Committee recommended that this constraint be relaxed to 10%. It also reiterated its previous conclusion that the case for reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 had not been made.

Given the time required to complete boundary reviews, any changes to the Rules would have to be a priority for the new Government if the October 2018 deadline is to be met.

£12.2 million
The expected annual savings resulting from reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

Party Lines

• Conservatives: implement the boundary reviews automatically once the commission reports in 2018
• Liberal democrats: cancel the boundary review
• UKIP: ensure constituencies across the country are of equal size

Unstoppable Momentum? 10% They reckon 10% of the population are unregistered to vote.

What has this got to do with us?  

Apart from the cuts to SBC, plans are being made to cut the number of local Borough Councillors.  Hurray some might say. Carl Les of NYCC is concerned that NYCC will be split and disbanded. Hurray some might say.

What about Whitby and Scarborough?

Hull City Council's leader expressed emphatically at the Labour Yorkshire Devolution debate that Hull (many thanks to Siemens) wanted to go it with Scunthorpe and Doncaster - the M62 route. He did not want to include the  East Riding.

I asked why nobody from Redcar was here? They are with the Northern Region. Oh. Are you sure? Yes. But Scarboorugh Whitby and Redcar are embarking on a multi-billion industry, how do we get Redcar in with us? We can't they are in with the North East Combined Authority.   Oh.  So where does that leave Whitby and Scarborough?  Out on a limb ... thats where.  Unless of course Whitby joins the Tees and North East and Scarborough & Bridlington and all those wonderful places in between go where?

As the debate continued John Prescott put his head in his hands.

Notes on FB "Ok head together, back from the LP's Devolution workshop ... they seem about as 'fragmented' about Devolution as the 'Tories' - Humberside want to be with South Yorkshire & mebbe Lincolnshire, but don't want to be with East Riding who want to be with North Yorkshire who don't want to be with West Yorkshire in case it splits NYCC (nowt wrong with that) South Yorkshire quite likes East Riding (sounds good) should be with North Yorkshire should be with a Greater Yorkshire, so John Prescott holds his head in he hands and bellows "We want a North, a devolution of the North, the North should not have to be run by the South' and everyone cheers.... I did say that we want Redcar & Teesport back but Hull was having none of that - now they got Siemens .... "We are Yorkshire's biggest Port' so I come back with . "If we had the Ridings back we could get Redcar back and they is a big port !!!" 

Gotta agree with Prescott, Osbourn's Devolution is a 'Divide and Conquer' strategy.  Nothing More & Nothing Less. 

I say, bring back the Ridings. But who gives a hoot. Over a barrel.

Erm, some people do : 

"I hope those of you who were able to join us in Wakefield on Saturday will agree that our “Big Devolution Debate” local government conference was a great event which gave people from across the region a voice on devolution.

This event was just the beginning of the consultation process on this hugely important issue that we, as your regional Labour Party team, are facilitating. The big debate on how Labour in Yorkshire and Humber should approach the process of negotiating powers being taken away from Westminster ministers and civil servants and put in the hands of local people needs to be as wide as possible.

So we want you to contribute.

What’s your view on devolution? Do you have views on the geography of potential settlements? Which public services, if any, should be included in deals?  What should it mean for governance structures? What should be the priorities for local government leaders for your own communities in their devolution negotiations?

You can email your submission by emailing: yhdevolution@labour.org.uk 

We will collate the submissions and will send them to Labour’s group leaders across our region and to members of the shadow cabinet.

Decisions taken now will have a huge impact on the future governance of Yorkshire and Humber – we want your views to help shape that process.

Equally, we’ll be providing a space online for Labour group leaders to share with you developments as the process continues, making sure this continues to be a two-way dialogue. We’ll send you an email with the link to this online space very soon.

Yorkshire and the Humber"

http://www.yorkshireandhumberlabour.org.uk/

'Get Stuck In'

Anyhow on a lighter night, here is one amazing young mans campaign to become a Mayor. http://itsyourbrisbane.com/

Ah yes, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34614556

Has Xi Jingpin gone yet ... did anyone check the inventory ... 

Bizzy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34_aceJYyys

PS . Ask yourself one question, Punk?

Multiple Choice? Nope ...  'barking up the wrong tree'