DEPUTY PM Angela Rayner will pledge today to make devolution the “default setting” for councils, shifting power from Whitehall to local authorities.

In a speech to regional leaders, Ms Rayner will outline plans to ensure regional powers, including on housing, are “no longer agreed at the whim of a minister in Whitehall.”

It comes after ministers warned they would step in if plans to build more prisons, wind turbines and homes meet opposition at a local level.