Elevating the ludicrous to an art form

I wrote yesterday, after the government devolution minister suggested that putting the election of a the first combined authority mayors in Cumbria and in Cheshire and Warrington, quote "will not affect the speed of establishment of the combined authorities in these areas," that this was the most delusional statement I had ever heard even by the standards of the present government.

I stand by that but it appears that Labour and the Lib/Dems are proposing to try to establish a Mayoral Authority without a mayor.

It is difficult to find words which adequately reflect how utterly barmy this is, but at best it is like Hamlet without the Prince or a wedding without a bride, at worst this is an outrageous attempt to gerrymander the start of the new authority and usurp the power of the new mayor before he or she has even been elected, landing him or her with people and costs who may quite possibly not be at all suited to the policy and programme the new mayor could be elected with a mandate to carry out.

This is elevating the ludicrous to an art form.

I take a completely different position to the Cumbria Chronic on whether a Mayor for Cumbria is a good idea, especially if the right person is elected to the position, but they are correct to criticise this proposal.

The Cumbria Chronic article is here (it's now a private site so you may not be able to view it):

 MAYOR VOTE AXED BUT WHY? – The Cumbria Chronic

(For the avoidance of confusion, the election for mayor has not been axed, it has been delayed a year from 2026 to 2027.)

There is no good idea which the worst kind of incompetent politician cannot foul up, and Labour and Lib/Dem incompetence seem determined to give us a masterclass.

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