Daniel Cowan, Leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council said: "We have been hard at work planning for a Mayoral Election in 2026 and we were ready to deliver these on behalf of Greater Essex.
But we accept the government's desire to slow that part of the programme down to ensure devolution is delivered in the right way.
"What this means for Essex is that devolution is still planned to go ahead and local areas will now be empowered to deliver for their residents ahead of the mayoral devolution in 2028.
"In short, devolution of funding and power are likely in the short term, but the election of a mayor will shift to the medium-term once the strategic authority has been established."