The Labour leader of Plymouth City Council has been described as ‘Yesterday’s Man’ during a heated debate on the shake-up of Devon’s local authorities.

Tudor Evans recently reassured Plymouth City Council employees that their jobs would be safe during the upcoming local government reorganisation (LGR).

But Cllr Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham), told a meeting of the full South Hams Council that everything would change next May when members are elected to ‘shadow’ authorities in the build-up to full LGR the following year.

“He’s yesterday’s man,” he said. “Come May next year he’ll be out of a job. We all know there’s no way Labour are going to hold on to Plymouth.

“Don’t take any notice of what people are saying now. Come May next year that’s gone and everything will sit with the shadow authorities.”

Under the new plans 13 parishes in the west of the current South Hams will be absorbed into a ‘Greater Plymouth’ unitary authority from April 2028. In the east, seven parishes will join an expanding Torbay.

The remainder will be part of a huge new Devon Coast and Countryside authority.

The shadow authorities will run alongside the existing councils until spring 2028, when the existing structure will be abolished and the ‘shadows’ will take over.

South Hams Council leader Dan Thomas (Lib Dem, Newton and Yealmpton) said the public had already rejected the planned set-up during the government’s open consultation.

“We have wasted an entire year of this council’s work doing something the government patently wasn’t interested in,” he said. “The government’s chosen plan, which leaves the rest of Devon behind after the expanded Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay, received just 20 per cent positive support and was ranked fourth out of the five options.

“The model we are stuck with was rejected on every major test.”

Cllr Nicky Hopwood (Con, Woolwell) asked if all council leaders would be saying jobs in their councils were safe, in light of Cllr Evans’ reassurance to staff in Plymouth.

“A relationship with the truth is not always the central tenet of a politician, is it?” said Cllr Thomas “Sometimes politicians at all levels, when a microphone is put in front of them, say things that might or might not be true. We cannot conceivably know.”

He said letters had been written to the Prime Minister raising the council’s concerns, but added: “There are none so deaf as those who will not listen.”

Cllr Brazil, who is also the leader of Devon County Council, went on: “We are not opposed to LGR in principle, but if you are going to do LGR, do it properly. This is a shocker.

“It shows a complete lack of understanding of Devon and its people.”

Members voted to endorse a move to press for a judicial review of the government’s decision for Devon and to ask local government secretary Angela Rayner to reconsider the ‘untenable’ proposals.

Cllr Simon Rake (Lib Dem, Blackawton and Stoke Fleming) told colleagues some people were treating the LGR as if some communities had ‘won a prize’.

He went on: “This is no prize for the residents of Plymouth. This is no prize for the residents of Exeter. This is no prize for anybody in Devon.

“There are no winners here, apart from perhaps the narrow political interests of the leaders of Exeter and Plymouth councils.”