Labour respond to Norfolk County Council devolution claims

eveningnews24.co.uk · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The government has hit back at the leader of Norfolk County Council after she sensationally withdrew the authority from the devolution process, accusing her of “vile abuse” and “false accusations”. Kay Mason Bilig, the Conservative leader at County Hall, has been criticised following her extraordinary speech on Tuesday where she branded local government secretary Steve Reed a "two-faced bully" and a "bastard". She made the remarks after he reversed his previous decision to cancel this spring's local elections and said they should go ahead after all. Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Bilig (Image: Emily Goodwin) Ms Mason Billig claimed he had earlier "threatened" to restrict the county's access to funding and to withhold certain powers from the proposed devolved authorities unless she agreed to support a delay in the elections. In response to his U-turn, she announced that her authority would be pulling out of the Labour’s flagship policy of reorganising local councils and creating a mayor for the region, claiming there would now not be enough time to complete the process. The decision has enraged the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed (Image: Yui Mok) A source at the department said: “It’s both baffling and shocking that a council leader would launch such vile abuse and totally false accusations at a Secretary of State she has, by her own admission, never met or spoken to. “She should reflect on her own leadership given her inability over recent weeks to communicate a clear position on election delays. “Calling a man she has never interacted with, even once, 'a bastard' seems like a stunt to detract from the bad feeling towards her locally and should be beneath any elected figure in UK politics.” Labour has also criticised Ms Mason Billig, reviving the 'steakgate' scandal from last summer, when the Tory leader was criticised over her Facebook post which showed a picture of her steak meal with the caption 'wonder what all the poor people are doing?' The post, which she claimed was a private joke, infuriated many in her own party and she was overlooked as the Tory's candidate to be the first mayor of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Facebook post which prompted calls for Kay Mason Billig to resign (Image: Facebook) A Labour spokesman said: "The Tories in Norfolk are set to reject £1 billion over government investment over 30 years, all because she is scared of losing her seat. “This is the same Tory Leader of Norfolk who was blocked from being Tory Mayoral candidate for mocking poor people while eating a steak." The government’s response marks the latest escalation in the ill-tempered row which has spiralled since Monday’s U-turn on election postponements. County Hall (Image: Newsquest) In her speech to a full council meeting at County Hall on Tuesday, Ms Mason Billig said that the government’s handling of elections and devolution had thrown a decade of work “down the pan”. She called on district councils to support her decision to withdraw from the devolution process, which the Tory leaders of South Norfolk and Great Yarmouth have since done.