Exeter’s 36 year campaign to have its unitary council status restored cleared its final parliamentary hurdles this week.

In a hotly contested debate on Monday in the House of Lords, an attempt by Liberal Democrat Peers to kill the legislation was overwhelmingly defeated.

A motion from the Cross Bench Peer Lady Butler Sloss expressing regret at the move and asking for a further delay was passed, but not with as big a majority as had been expected.

The only other two cross benchers who spoke, supported Exeter’s case, as did the Labour Peers Lord (Larry) Whitty and Baroness (Brenda) Dean.

The orders was also approved easily both in committee and on the floor in the House of Commons.

It was a great tribute to the hard work of everyone in Exeter over so many years. An all-party delegation from the city last week, led by Conservative Lord Mayor Cllr John Winterbottom and including Lib Dem, Liberal and Labour councillors did a brilliant job at persuading cross bench and Tory Peers not to support the fatal amendment.

Now that the orders for both Exeter and Norwich have been approved by Parliament, after lengthy debate in both Houses and are law, it is far less likely that the outstanding legal challenge by Norfolk and Devon will succeed. Parliament is sovereign and the courts are usually very reluctant to overturn such a strong democratic mandate.

Also, one of the effects of the legislation has been to postpone the city council elections that were due to take place in one third of Exeter wards in May in order to hold all out elections to the new unitary authority next year.

So those councillors who would have faced elections in May have been told they can continue for one more year. By the time the court sits it will be too late to reinstate those elections so the court will want to be very mindful indeed of the consequences of any ruling on the democratic process.

Meanwhile David Cameron has been embarrassing his local parliamentary candidate in Exeter today telling local Tories they were wrong to support Exeter’s bid. Cameron is either incredibly ill-informed or astonishingly insensitive or both.

Exeter Tory leader Yolanda Henson has fought for years for unitary status and was ably supported by John Winterbottom, Norman Shiel and Jeff Coates among others for last week’s lobby of the Lords.

Cameron said a Tory Government would reverse the decision. But as doing so would require primary legislation could anyone really see an incoming Tory government making this their first priority and upsetting Exeter Conservatives in the process?

When can we expect the Conservative parliamentary candidate to finally speak up for Exeter, support local Conservative councillors and call publicly for her national party to allow Exeter to fulfil its ambition and call on Tory-run Devon County Council to drop its costly and futile legal shenanigans?

The House of Commons voted decisively last night to support Exeter’s bid for self rule.

A motion tabled by the Conservatives opposing Government plans to restore unitary government to Exeter and Norwich was defeated comfortably.

Conservative MPs from rural Devon and Norfolk lined up to criticise the plans.

But the proposals were strongly supported by Labour members including the former Home Sectretary and Norwich MP Charles Clarke.

The Chairman of the influential Commons local government select committee, Dr Phyllis Starkey, also supported Exeter’s case pointing out that is enjoys all party support in the city, including from Conservative councillors.

The Minister, Barbara Follett said the Government was restoring the full local government status Exeter had enjoyed for 800 years until it was taken away by the Conservative Government in the early 1970s.

Potholes and the state of the roads is one of the main complaints I get on the doorstep. Another good reason for Exeter to run its own affairs.

It’s ludicrous that councillors from Bideford and South Hams decide how much money to spend repairing Exeter’s roads and which roads to repair when.

We need Exeter councillors who are accountable to local people making those decisions and given the money to do so. Exeter would then get our fair share of resources, rather than it all going to the rural areas.

As Exeter’s bid to have its self-rule restored reaches the final lap all eyes are on the House of Lords.

A legal attempt by Devon and Norfolk county councils to thwart Exeter and Norwich’s aspirations was rightly put on the back burner by the High Court who said Parliament should take precedence.

The House of Lords is full of Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters of the powerful county lobby in this David and Goliath struggle. A very experienced cross bench Peer tells me the Lords has only rejected a Government order 3 times since 1945 and never one relating to local government organisation.

It would therefore be a constitutional outrage if the Lords were to block the Exeter and Norwich orders – which enjoy strong support in those two cities. If unelected Liberal Democrat or Conservative Peers try to block the will of the people of Exeter and Norwich and the democratic Commons, all pretence by those parties to support the democratic principle and a reformed Lords would be exposed as a sham.

It would also create a precedent the Conservatives might regret should they ever form a future Government.

The decision to grant Exeter unitary status is wonderful news.

It restores the self- rule that our city enjoyed for hundreds of years until 1974.

All those in Exeter who have worked so hard over many years to this end deserve congratulation.

They include the business community, university, voluntary sector and all four political parties on the city council.

That strong all party unity has been critically important to this result.

But more than anything this is a tribute to the people of Exeter who have never given up on their desire to return to running their their own affairs in the same way as England’s other great cities.

In means that in future Exeter councillors will once again decide on local matters affecting Exeter rather than councillors from Barnstaple, Kingsbridge or Tavistock. No longer will councillors or councils be able to pass the buck between them. A single council will be responsible for what happens in Exeter with councillors directly accountable to the people they serve.

Cabinet colleagues visiting Exeter and other places in the South West for yesterday’s Cabinet meeting were universally impressed.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, spent an hour taking questions on a whole range of foreign policy issues at Exeter University’s world renowned Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies. Subjects included Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Bosnia and Israel/Palestine. David told me afterwards that he had thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had rarely been quizzed on such a range of subjects in so much depth. Thanks to Tim Niblock and all his colleagues at the University for organising the event at such notice and to everyone who turned up. I’m sorry capacity constraints meant that not everyone who wanted to come could get in. But anyone has any questions or points they would like me to pass on to David please let me know.

Patricia Scotland, the Attorney General, was also at the University and Exeter Crown Court. She was particularly impressed by the work being done in Exeter on domestic violence. In fact, Exeter is the best performing area in the country in reducing the level of domestic violence and helping offenders change their behaviour. Lady Scotland said those involved were doing an “absolutely brilliant job – one of the great unsung success stories of the Labour Government” and she wanted the rest of the country to emulate Exeter.

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary was at St James’ School at my request. Given St James’ is in the top ten improved schools in the country I thought it would be great if Ed could pop in to congratulate the staff and students. He did and told me afterwards that he thought Helen the head and her team are doing a great job.

I was back at St Luke’s School with Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell to celebrate the students’ achievements in school sport. St Luke’s has one of the highest activity and sports participation rates in the country and has been leading the transformation of school sport in the Exeter area. Some of the students were also doing a sponsored walk for Haiti – good for them!

Cabinet Office Minister, Tessa Jowell, who is responsible for the Third Sector, visited Devon Doctors in Marsh Barton – the co-operative organisation of Devon GPs that runs the out of hours service in the county and was recently judged one of the best performing out of hours services in England. Given recent concerns about the quality of some GP out of hours services, Tessa came away convinced that the sort of social enterprise model we have in Devon is the way forward for the rest of the country.

John Denham, local government Secretary, was also at the university at the Innovation Centre – but I haven’t had a chance to catch up with him to find out how it went.

Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan, met cycle user groups in Exeter to learn how Exeter has achieved the biggest increase in cycling of anywhere in Britain.

Last but not least, Deputy Labour leader, Harriet Harman, did a speech and question and answer session at Labour HQ at Clifton Hill for party members and activists from all over the region. She came away really buoyed up saying: “morale seems higher the further you get away from Westminter.” I couldn’t agree more!

There may have been more Cabinet Ministers visiting places in Exeter that I missed. Any info gratefully received!

Exeter Racecourse did a great organisational job. The “town hall meeting” before Cabinet went well with members of the public asking questions on issues ranging from food production, the economy, public services, skills and defence. The Prime Minister did a separate round table discussion with readers of the Express and Echo and Western Morning News during which he was asked about issues including drink driving, support for carers and the possibility of moving our clocks to continental European time. The Cabinet meeting itself included a report from South West Minister Jim Knight on the economy in the region and an update from Northern Ireland Secretary, Shaun Woodward, on the deal that had just been struck in the Northern Ireland. Cabinet colleagues said they thought it had been the best regional Cabinet yet – and the food – all local – was certainly the best.

Most Cabinet colleagues left by train from Exeter, but travellers at Tiverton Park railway station had a surprise when the Prime Minister arrived to pick up the train there and, with time to spare, chatted on the platform and had his photo taken with passengers using their mobile phones.

Great news that the Government has supported Exeter’s bid for a skills academy – involving Flybe, Exeter College and Exeter University.

Today’s announcement means work can start next month on the new training centre and new hotel at Exeter Airport.

The head of Flybe, Jim French, told me at the launch it means his company is taking on 40 apprentices for what it used to cost to take on just 5 – thanks to the Government support.

This news will secure many highly-skilled jobs and training places in Exeter for years to come. Flybe is one of our most successful local and regional firms. Though most people are aware of the airline, fewer realise how important Flybe’s Exeter base is to aircraft engineering skills. The company has been growing from strength to strength and services planes from all over the world including France and Germany.

Funding for the new academy was in doubt earlier this year because of the Learning and Skills Council having seriously overcommitted its capital budget. But sustained lobbying by the company, Exeter Chamber of Commerce, Exeter College and me delivered the right result today.

This is a classic example of active Government, helping people through the downturn and securing a more prosperous future by investing in skills and training. This would all be at risk from the Tories who have opposed the initiative, would slash investment now and also abolish the South West Regional Development Agency, whose role has been pivotal in supporting this project.

Good news too that, after 20 years, new council houses are at last to be built in Exeter and elsewhere. The home building programme of the 1945 Labour Government was – along with the NHS – one of its great legacies. It’s great that new council houses are now going to spring up, to supplement the big increase already underway in Housing Association homes – making it easier for people on modest incomes to find somewhere to live.

Exeter gave the Royal Marines a right royal welcome home from Afghanistan today.

A parade and service in Exeter Cathedral, in the presence of Prince Philip and scores of local wellwishers. It was Exonian hospitality and warmth at its best.

Many thanks to all those who helped make the day such a success.

Earlier family, friends and many others who knew and loved him bade farewell to Granville Baldwin, former Lord Mayor, councillor for Countess Wear and life-long Labour member and trade unionist.

Granville had battled valiantly over many years with cancer and, as well as the huge contribution he made to Exeter’s civic life he did an enormous amount for Exeter Hospiscare. He will be greatly missed.

It’s deeply frustrating that mistakes make by the Boundary Committee in the way it went about dealing with Exeter’s bid to run its own affairs has led to a further delay in the process.

But at least it seems to have accepted what Exeter has been saying for a long time - the Boundary Committee can recommend more than one solution and should take into account the savings across the piece from the reduction in the current number of local authorities to one or two.

However, it is more important to get things right than to rush the process.