City Mayor urged to "play ball" over back-up devolution deal for Leicestershire and Rutland

The leader of Leicestershire County Council says he's concerned Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) will miss out on a second government devolution deal, as a result of the Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby "not playing ball".

Last week, Labour's Claire Ward was elected as the first-ever East Midlands Mayor, and will get £38m per year to spend on Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire - but not LLR.

After local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland couldn't agree on having the new mayor, plans were put in place to settle for a much smaller devolution deal - known as a level two deal - that comes without a mayor.

But Leicestershire County Council Leader Nick Rushton says the deal can't be struck without Sir Peter Soulsby:

'He says he does not want another mayor and he can't see the benefits.'

'I've consistently told him he's wrong, and this is the direction of both Conservative government policy and if we had a Labour government.'

'We are disadvantaged by the City Mayor not being willing to play ball.'

He added: 'We are the driver of growth in the East Midlands. We've got the airport, we've got the free-port; the excellent universities, the M1 running straight through the middle of us.'

'...and yet we don't seem to get recognised for the job we do for the country.'

'We're getting all the business and housing growth and yet our infrastructure is falling behind, and I don't just mean roads - I mean schools, hospitals, everything.'

Sir Peter Soulsby said: 'Certainly at a personal level, Nick Rushton and I, and our councils, work very well together and with Rutland as well.'

'I just think to actually try and firm something up this side of a general election just doesn't make any sense for anybody.'

'It makes sense for Derby and Nottingham, two very close, adjacent cities, for them to work as part of a combined authority.'

He added: 'We're twenty-odd miles away, and we're as near to Coventry as we are to Nottingham. Frankly, not just to me, but to others in Leicester - it just hasn't seemed sense joining up with something that's pretty remote.'

'Leicester has got a mayor; frankly I can't imagine many Leicester people being very keen on having another mayor based in Nottingham to whom we would have to go cap in hand.'

'We've been very successful in Leicester in bringing about regeneration and investment, both private sector and government investment, into the city.'

'I think we're very content with continuing doing that successfully, by ourselves.'

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