THE Hampshire and Isle of Wight devolution partnership has rejected an elected mayor should its bid be successful.

At the request of the Government, the 19 partners, including the 15 local councils, two Local Enterprise Partnerships and two national park authorities, have provided additional details about their proposals on a number of topics including low-cost housing delivery, funding for vital infrastructure such as roads and schools and how the decisions that would be passed down from government would be taken at a local level.

During a recent visit the Minister with responsibility for devolution, James Wharton MP, asked the partnership to agree the devolved powers should be given to a new elected “metro mayor” for the area.

The partners agreed that, while they can see the benefits of a “metro mayor” for big cities such as London or Manchester, they do not see it as the right model for a large, diverse and extensively rural area such as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Hampshire County Council leader Roy Perry said:“The Government has said many times, as they roll-out devolution across England, there is no one-size fits all model.

“So what is this obsession with ‘Metro-Mayors’? In Britain we do not elect our Prime Minister; he or she is drawn from Parliament and answerable to Parliament.

“That is the model that has been used for Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and it seems to be totally appropriate in England.”

The partnership says it is ready to deliver a devolution deal, but only when it is convinced it will benefit people in the area by bringing genuine devolution of power and funds from Whitehall down to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.