What does council shake

Few people involved in this process in Devon will have been surprised by a decision to shake up local government.

Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay will all expand to take on council services in surrounding areas in the biggest changes to local government for more than 50 years.

Labour leaders in Plymouth and Exeter have been consistently optimistic their proposal would be accepted, while those arguing for alternative solutions were increasingly resigned to defeat.

Indeed, the former local government minister who kicked the process off specifically praised the potential of medium-sized cities like Exeter as regional "anchors".

Thursday's announcement very much bears out that approach, with the three big urban centres of Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay each expanding to take in large hinterlands.

Many in Exeter will see this as unfinished business.

A decade-and-a-half ago it was granted unitary status and independence from Devon County Council, only for this to be reversed at the eleventh hour by the incoming coalition government.

Opposition politicians claim the decisions are driven by party political considerations – with the shadow communities secretary singling out Devon as an example.

Councils abolished and elections cancelled - why?

The secretary of state insists the majority of the plans have cross-party support and are the best options for economic growth.

Otherwise, local opposition is couched in terms of both identity and practicality.

There has been vehement opposition from some residents in the rural South Hams to being lumped together with industrial Plymouth.

Critics also question the viability of the "rest of Devon" or "coast and country" council, a vast rural geography shorn of the county's biggest towns.

And where will this council be based?

Using existing council buildings in either the far north or the deep south would mean very long journey times for councillors from the other end of the county.

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Finally, while this is a big deal in itself for Devon, it is not the whole story.

The government sees unitary councils – already in place elsewhere in the South West – as the building blocks for its ambitious devolution plans which envisage unitaries grouping together under elected regional mayors.

If the Starmer administration was keen on devolution, incoming PM Andy Burnham looks set to put rocket boosters under it.

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Massive expansion for Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay