The party has long supported devolution and argued for more control at a local level, but Ms Gilmour said proposals that prioritise areas with a directly elected mayor risk entrenching a “postcode lottery.” "Rather than leaving Tiverton and Minehead behind, Burnham should rethink his devolution plans to make sure that everyone benefits from devolving power out of Westminster." Under current proposals, areas with a metro-mayor already receive more than nine times the capacity funding of 'foundation' authorities - £2.26m compared to just £250,000 in 2026–27. Authorities in the government's Devolution Priority Programme receive investment fund allocations ranging from £11m to £44m per year. The Lib Dems say areas without a mayor are being asked to "wait even longer for less."