Three local councils – Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and Cheshire East – all recently backed creation of a new combined authority (CA), which will be headed by a mayor who will be chosen at a vote, pencilled in for May, 2027. Although each council will continue to operate business as usual, the new Cheshire and Warrington CA will be a separate but related organisation with a budget of £650m over the next 30 years. The mayor will have control over things like transport, housing and employment and also act as the ‘face’ of the Cheshire and Warrington region, similar to the way Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram do in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region respectively. He said: “I know Cheshire and Warrington has the potential to punch above its weight and compete with other leading regions. That’s why I know I can bring people together, to just get stuff done.”Cheshire West and Chester along with Warrington Borough councils recently backed creation of the new CA; Cheshire East did so too – but narrowly – with 36 for and 32 against.