The issue of a unitary authority has also been raised - in 2007 the government rejected plans to scrap the county's six district councils.

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All of these presidents, particularly Nixon and Reagan, likewise promoted a muscular vision of presidential power that strengthened the authority of government and introduced concepts, such as the unitary executive, which would become the intellectual underpinning of the Bush administration.

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He made the claim on 28 July 2010 during a debate on report stage of the Local Government Bill which reverses the previous administration's approval of unitary councils for Exeter and Norwich.

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Lord Howarth of Newport, a leading proponent of unitary status for Norwich, said Mr Pickles, who is responsible for local government, had "set out to scare" his civil servants from offering their honest opinions.

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But Devon County Council leader Brian Greenslade said the council was relieved by the government decision, as Exeter City Council's proposal for a unitary authority was "deeply flawed and could not have worked within the narrow confines of the city boundaries".

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Counter to Tory policy nationally, Wiltshire councillors agreed to abolish four district councils and merge into one unitary authority - saving a fortune in bureaucracy but cutting a deal with the then Labour government that none of its central funding would be reduced.

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Labour accused the coalition government of "shutting out" the desire of Exeter and Norwich city councils to get unitary status, despite "genuine local appetite" for the changes.

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There are elections in London, for the Mayor and Assembly, in the 32 Scottish and 22 Welsh local councils, as well as for 36 English metropolitan councils and 18 English unitary authorities - not to mention at least 11 referendums on whether or not cities should switch to government by a mayoral system.

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