Pickles defends plan for mayors before voters have decided

The Minister, and former Bradford Council leader, is facing an angry response from council leaders in Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield over the plans that were confirmed by the Government yesterday, with opposition to both the referendum and the move to "rebadge" them beforehand.

Mr Pickles insisted that putting elected mayors in charge would boost the status of England's biggest cities – and made clear he has little time for their complaints amid reports that Leeds Council leader Keith Wakefield may resign if forced to become a mayor ahead of a referendum.

"We will miss him deeply if he decides to stand down but I will turn up at his leaving do and chip in a bit," he joked.

The plans for a referendum in each of the four cities in 2012 were detailed in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill and hailed by the Government as a radical shift of power down to local people and communities.

If they win a "yes" vote, Ministers want the first mayors to be elected in 2013 and say the move could put cities on an equal footing with overseas rivals such as Chicago.

But as reported in the Yorkshire Post yesterday, council leaders have made clear they oppose the idea – and are particularly angry at being forced to become shadow mayors before the vote.

The Bill will give groups in local communities powers to take control of some council services in line with David Cameron's vision of the "Big Society".

Cherished shops and services which are under threat could be taken over by communities, and neighbourhood planning rules are to be overhauled.

"This is about a new constitutional arrangement, it is about shifting power down to localities," said Mr Pickles.

But Shadow Communities Secretary and Don Valley MP Caroline Flint said: "Their plans ring hollow when at the same time they are cutting local government by twenty seven per cent on average over the next four years. It's offering councils devolution while holding a gun to their head."