Taxpayers to foot £43bn worth of council debt under Rayner's 'devolution revolution'

However, as many of these councils are facing serious amounts of debt, a senior Whitehall figure has said that this burden would be adopted by the new authorities, rather than central Government.

Currently, England’s county and district councils are believed to be in £24billion of debt, while smaller councils are said to add to the burden with a further £19billion worth of debt.

Currently, England’s county and district councils are believed to be in £24billion of debt, while smaller councils are said to add to the burden with a further £19billion worth of debt

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Both will be elected at next year’s local elections.

Other areas that are believed to be in line to receive a directly elected mayor includes Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex and Cheshire.

As a result, the Government hopes to do away with the current hybrid system which means that areas have county and district councils which have separate functions, rather than one unitary body.

Currently, combined authority mayors levy a precept in addition to council taxes across Manchester, Liverpool and Cambridgeshire.

As part of the new rules, a new mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, as well as Hull and East Yorkshire, will be elected next year

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However, the Conservatives have slammed the Government’s “devolution revolution”, arguing that the policy has sent a “very clear message” to authorities.

The Conservatives have said that “that this Government feels that the men from Whitehall know best what their place needs, not bottom-up local leadership, but top-down templates for local government”.

Shadow local government minister David Simmonds said in the House of Commons: “Instead of genuine devolution, what this White Paper sets out is a reductive approach.

“It's a mishmash of new tiers, new taxes, taking decision-making further distance away from residents, and if the experience of London is anything to go by, costing them a fortune at the same time.”