Angela Rayner has said she wants a mayor in every region in England under the biggest shake-up of local government in decades.

Regional mayors will be handed more powers over housing, transport, education and employment under the plans – with greater freedom to decide how taxpayers’ cash is spent.

Small district councils could be abolished in areas with two tiers of local authority, ending a complicated patchwork of local government. The first “mega-councils” are due to be in place by April 2027 – and town halls that drag their feet could be ordered to merge by ministers.

The devolution white paper, published on Monday, will ensure regional powers are “no longer agreed at the whim of a minister in Whitehall,” Ms Rayner said.

Ms Rayner said: “I want to see the whole of England have mayors. It’s about working with them. I know some areas, it’s going to take them a bit longer to get there and we will work with them. Because I want to have a council of mayors in England that will really be able to drive the growth in their local areas.”

The massive shake-up could mean some local elections due to take place in May 2025 are postponed. Ms Rayner said any delays to local polls “wouldn’t be for longer than a couple of months, a year”.

She said: “We’re asking people to come forward as quickly as possible, and if they’re near enough to a deal and they say: ‘Well, you know, we just need a few more months, and then we can put that system in place’.

It comes as part of efforts to take power out of Whitehall and to unblock planning so the Government can deliver on its promise to build 1.5million homes by the end of this Parliament.

Critics warned the plans could trample all over local democracy. Cllr Hannah Dalton, vice chair of the District Council Network, said: “We’re concerned that any creation of mega councils will prove the opposite of devolution, taking powers away from local communities, depriving tens of millions of people of genuinely localised decision making and representation.”

Council areas which would be impacted by the changes are expected to receive letters from the Government in the new year.