End of term report for current government

Ah, I see: Google tells me there are now mayors of districts as well.

A district that has an elected mayor having a devolution deal and a district that doesn't have a devolution deal not having such a deal doesn't suggest favouritism to me; it suggests that devolution deals depend (presumably in law) on having an elected mayor. What the north-east district should do next seems pretty obvious and logical to me. Why hasn't it elected a mayor yet?

You miss the point, thatbags. Cornwall does not have an elected mayor.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/13434547.Cornwall_handed_devolution_package___without_need_for_a_mayor/

Ah. Beg your pardon.

So what can NE do, given this explanation (which still doesn't look like something that can be called favouritisim to me):

"The Treasury said Cornwall had escaped the mayoral diktat because it is already a unitary authority, with a decisive leadership.

In contrast, Mr Osborne has refused to hand over significant powers to areas with multiple council leaders, with the potential for disputes and uncertainty."

It is favouritism. The North East Combined Authority has an elected leader. The area has twice the population of Cornwall. However, the elected leader is the leader of a Labour unitary authority, as are all the other council leaders, I think. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

The government actually said in the last parliament that they would give devolution to areas that worked together. The North East has. Now they have changed their own rules.

County Durham is exactly the same as Cornwall, a unitary authority with a population of over half a million, with a decisive leadership.

What's the difference?

I don't know, but I did some googling and in the info I found Durham
County Council, the unitary council that I think you mean, looks as if it has a far more complicated structure than that of Cornwall Council. It would appear that this complicatedness is what Osborne referred to when he refused a devolution deal.

So, on the info I've seen so far, it doesn't look to me as if DCC is exactly the same as Cornwall Council.

For instance, North Tyneside Council has a leader who is a member of the board of Durham County Council, but she is also the elected mayor of North Tyneside and only North Tyneside.

Where did you find that information, bags?
Can you give me a link? Are you sure you are not mixing up County Durham with the North East Combined Authority?
Simon Henig is the leader of both.

You're right, dj, I was confusing NECA with DCC. Here are two of the links I used:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall_Council

www.northeastca.gov.uk/who-we-are/north-east-leadership-board-governance/board-members

Does Cornwall have something equivalent to NECA?

And here is a link to a Guardian article from March this year which talks about rivalries between Sunderland and Newcastle. Could that rivalry be what Osborne was referring to?

I just noticed Henig is an Oxford graduate and postgraduate. I'm surprised you approve of him, dj

That's always been happening, bags, between Newcastle and Sunderland. That's nothing to do with it.
What I was saying is that Durham Unitary authority is the same size as Cornwall and has a similar base. The government told them that if the North East authorities got together they would be considered for devolution. They said they would look favourably on any groups of authorities that joined together. Cornwall hasn't done that. If Cornwall had to join Devon in one authority, they would have the same problem.
Osborne changed the rules telling them they needed to elect a mayor before they would give them any devolved powers.

Have I said I approve of Simon Henig? I just told you who he was.

Osborne changes the rules to suit himself. What happened to the Northern powerhouse idea? How does sidelining the north east help that?

Are you saying that if Cornwall and Devon county councils had got together in a South-West Combined Authority they would have had to elect a mayor before devolution, but since they didn't get together Cornwall has forestalled the problem the NE is now in?

I find the last sentence of your first paragraph confusing. To whom are the 'they' and the 'them' referring, Cornwall or NE?

Also, I don't see how you can be sure the rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle councils has nothing to do with it when the link you provided at 11:53:47 says this: "In contrast, Mr Osborne has refused to hand over significant powers to areas with multiple council leaders, with the potential for disputes and uncertainty."

Union chief Len McCluskey has pocketed a £5,000 pay rise while thousands of his members struggle with wage freezes. The powerful Left-wing Unite boss, pictured below, saw his package jump to £140,281 last year – just short of the salary paid to David Cameron.26 Jun 2014

Not much said about this wage increase last year.

Very interesting fact magpie

I wonder if he donated his pay rise to charity?

'The government has now postponed the cap of £72,000 on social care, e.g. in care homes, until 2020. It was supposed to come in next year. They cannot afford that, but can afford to give themselves a pay rise. I know they say it's not a pay rise, just moving money around, but it alters the amount of money they have to spend.'
.....I'd like to know how many older people actualy voted Conservative as a result of this being in their manifesto . I was certainly tempted to vote for them because of it. And they must have known what money was available at the time; no excuse of not knowing what funds were available.

If they are getting 10% I think it reasonable to ask that they put in extra time- if GPs are to work weekends, why not MPs? And they could cut their holidays. So End of Term Report
Attendance-Poor
DC has been missing for extensive periods (travelling I believe). He needs to concentrate, ensure his attendance improves and work hard.

A large number of MPs do work at weekends in their constituencies.

Yes but a lot of them don't and it isn't required or recorded. I'd like to see a lot more accountability and clarity.