Opinion : it might be easier for the Labour Party candidates to win later in the Parliament when their policies have bedded in a bit. I'm sure the delay required for establishing solid Unitary authorities is entirely coincidental.
But what is this? The interim Chief Executive, Dr Ruth Adams, has been appointed. The Combined Authority is expected to be created in the coming months, funded at 40% of its expected annual funding and won't have a mayor until 2028.
I have questions. Appointed by who? Funded to do what exactly? Accountable to who?
The Hampshire and Solent region is set to gain its own powers over transport, housing, education, healthcare and local economic development.
The current councils have submitted their proposals of how to combine existing councils into larger entities which match the governments 500,000 population target.
The initial options all treated the Isle of Wight as a special case which will retain its own council because of its geography.
And Portsmouth/Havant/Fareham/Gosport were all combined together in all of the initial options.
In the final proposal there are also two other combined councils; South East Hampshire covering Southampton, Eastleigh, New Forest and Test Valley, and North and Mid Hampshire covering Winchester, Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and East Hampshire.
The Communities Secretary Steve Reed has spoken (PDF letter).
This doesn't reflect any proposal I can remember seeing. And indeed the letter says "In implementing this proposal, I am exercising my power to modify the base proposal received from the existing councils named above, in order to make the boundary change requested." Portsmouth seems to have gained the suburban bits of East Hampshire. And Southampton has gained a sliver of the West side of the New Forest. Fawley? New Forest residents are not happy. I'm happy that Basingstoke/Hart got the autonomy they wanted. But my word, the bit in the middle that includes the rest of the New Forest, Test Valley, Winchester and East Hampire is huge.
Having submitted their joint proposal, it seems that some non-Labour run councils are getting cold feet.
Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson first advocated voting against the devolution deal as it didn't include ferries in the transport powers. Then once the council had voted against, he sent a letter to the Local Government minister asking for the Isle of Wight to remain a Unitary authority!
I wonder if Donna Jones would have been so keen to share a stage with this MP if she'd known what he was up to.
Liberal Democrate run Portsmouth City Council has also objected on the grounds that it is a unitary authority and it's doing fine thanks.
And more discontent about the actual Governement decision.
As well as the New Forest, the bits glued onto Portsmouth are not happy about losing their rural parish councils.
As I submitted in one of my comments to the process, no-one will be happy in the near term about these changes, especially sitting councillors. Turkeys complaining about Christmas,