A petition against the "annexing" of Warwickshire into the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been delivered to parliament by local MP Matt Western after he accused Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, of "naked gerrymandering".

Plans for Warwickshire County Council to join the WMCA were shelved earlier this year, with the council saying there was not enough time to consult residents fully before next year's elections.

But the council was clear that the proposal had not been scrapped entirely.

As such, the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington has sent his petition to the relevant government department, saying any future discussions between WMCA and the county council "be held openly and transparently".

He said a referendum should be held on any future proposed plans so residents can have their say.

"The attempt to annex Warwickshire into the WMCA was a blatant power grab by the Conservative Mayor of the Combined Authority as he sought to shore up support to stay in power next May," Mr Western said.

"I am delighted that the campaign I led against these plans was successful and Warwickshire won't be dragged into these political games.

"Local residents must be the priority in decision making, not political careers.

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"I was proud to present this petition to Parliament on behalf of our towns and villages and am grateful for the neary 1,000 constituents who joined the campaign and signed my online petition."