Norfolk County Council has asked the government to postpone its local elections this year, in the first step towards a major shake-up of local authorities. Councillors voted in favour of working with Westminster on a plan which would see the smaller councils scrapped and a mayor overseeing Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Government gave Derbyshire three weeks to decide if elections would go ahead or be deferred to focus on local Government reorganisation and a decision has been made

At least 12 out of 21 county councils due to hold elections in May are poised to ask ministers to delay the ballots to explore options set out in a major redesign of local government announced in December.

A council has voted to ask the government to postpone the local elections in May and fast track the county for devolution. A government Devolution White Paper, published in December, outlined plans to scrap two-tier councils and replace them with strategic authorities - and an overseeing mayor.

The meeting, which took place on Thursday afternoon, discussed the plans and went in favour of the government's Devolution White Paper. The government announced in December it would would like to reorganise how local government works and do away with district and county councils in favour of unitary authorities,