Kent has missed out being part of the government fast-tracked devolution programme.

The sweeping change to local government, the biggest in half a century, would have seen the abolition of all 14 councils in Kent and the creation of a directly elected mayor.

In the House of Commons at lunchtime, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed rumours which had been swirling in Kent political circles since mid-morning.

Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Council leaders, Roger Gough (Con) and Vince Maple (Lab) were hopeful to be put on the government’s “devolution priority programme” (DPP) as it may have resulted in more powers and better financial rewards for the county.

The May elections to KCC, where the Tories have three quarters of the 81 seats, will go ahead.

Cllr Gough has instructed his back benchers the poll “will proceed as normal”.

The Conservatives have been widely tipped to struggle to retain a majority and control of the authority, especially in the face of a strengthening Reform UK vote.

Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of Medway Council said: “It is bitterly disappointing to learn today that the Kent and Medway region has not been selected for the Devolution Priority Programme.

“We believe that we had a very strong case to offer and had unanimous support across all 14 councils for our proposal and had made it clear to government that we were ready and willing to meet its ambitious timeline and work towards a mayoral election in Kent in 2026.

“The rationale for the decision by government needs further explanation and clarity which I will be seeking.

“This decision that other parts of England will have priority access to resources and devolved opportunities that will be denied to the 1.9 million people of Kent and Medway is particularly frustrating.

“I welcome (local government minister) Jim McMahon’s praise for the work that Kent and Medway had put into our submission and for the positive and cooperative way all councils across our region had worked together to put forward our application to be part of the Devolution Priority Programme.

“I wish to personally thank hard-working officers and councillors from across our region for the effort they put into this process.

“We are encouraged that the Government has confirmed that they will continue to work with us as they remain committed to rolling out devolution to the rest of the country and we are confident that we will begin the process in our region before too long.

“In the meantime, we will make best use of this pause to learn from the experience of others, and we wish our local government colleagues and their regions in the next wave of devolution all the very best in this process.”

Cllr Stuart Jeffery, Green Party leader of Maidstone Borough Council, who accepts some form of devolution is inevitable in Kent, said: “A victory for democracy. Kent’s Conservatives can no longer shape the future of councils across Kent without a democratic mandate. Bring on the election.”

Some leaders were unconvinced by the mayoral model, saying it devolved too much power to one person.

Kent will still be invited to make arrangements for the dismantling of its 14 local authorities and to form a much smaller number of larger unitary authorities.

Councillors Gough and Maple wrote to leaders saying the reasons for not making the DPP were “both confusing and insufficient”.

They wrote: “Not being part of this accelerated devolution programme is undoubtedly disappointing, given that Kent and Medway made it clear to government that we were ready and willing to meet its ambitious timeline and work towards a mayoral election in Kent in 2026.

“The reason we have been given is both confusing and insufficient and we will be seeking more detail from ministers as to the rationale as soon as possible.

“We remain committed to securing a deal for Kent and Medway and will continue the valuable work with you that we have carried out across the county, to shape the best possible deal for our region.

We will continue to lobby ministers to ensure that Kent and Medway remain top of the list when the next round of devolution deals in the UK is decided…”

Liberal Democrat group leader at KCC Antony Hook said: “We welcome the news that local elections will go ahead in May. It is vital people get to choose who represents them.

“It was a disgrace that Conservative members of KCC asked the government to cancel the elections and that the government appeared to entertain this.

“Government needs to give sufficient funding to local government so we can meet the public’s needs when it comes to caring for the elderly, looking after vulnerable children and repairing our transport systems.

“Devolution of extra powers would be welcome to help get things done for local people. These should come to the elected local councils. Creating a mayor for Kent was unnecessary and would have been expensive.”

Labour group leader at KCC Alister Brady said the decision by the government is the right one and Kent should concentrate on council reorganisation first.

Cllr Brady added: “Local government reorganisation should be the priority - we should take our time and get it right.”

By having elections in May, people will have their opportunity to make their judgement on how the Conservative administration has performed in the past four years, he said.

KCC’s only Reform UK member Thomas Mallon, who was elected to County Hall late last year, said: “We look forward to taking part in the democratic process. We will be fielding candidates all over Kent.

“I always said I was up for campaigning my newly-won seat, as that is democracy.

“Now the people can decide in Kent if they want true reform and a change of the old guard.”

Conservative candidate for Maidstone at KCC Stanley Forecast said: “A unitary authority system would be good for Kent and it has always seemed madness to me that housing and transport have been separate.

“However, it is crucial democracy goes ahead and I am pleased the elections are on.”

Chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit Jonathan Carr-West said: “Today’s announcement will get a mixed reception within the sector. Those areas that have been selected for the DPP, others may feel rather bruised.

“Councils were given 16 working days to put their applications together for the DPP. Countless hours were spent by council staff and elected members who worked incredibly hard over the Christmas period to meet this deadline.

“Today, we found out that less than half have been successful. It is essential that we understand more about the decision making process around this as there will undoubtedly be some places that feel they have been marched up the hill and then marched down again having spent considerable amounts of time and political capital getting to this point.“

Councils given the go ahead for DPP status include Sussex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Greater Essex.