‘Madness’ not to find out more about new mayoral system, councillors agree

Royal Borough councillors expressed an interest in starting devolution discussions with Government, which could pave the way for a Thames Valley elected mayoral authority.

Devolution is where central Government passes certain powers down to a regional level.

There are ongoing discussions about whether the Royal Borough and other councils nearby should agree to form a new Thames Valley combined authority under an elected mayor.

This ‘strategic authority’ would take on some powers currently held by councils – and unlock access to extra Government funding.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which seeks to add more such devolved areas across England, is currently going through Parliament.

At an extraordinary council meeting on Wednesday (December 17), Royal Borough councillors agreed to find out more about what devolution could mean for the area, but some raised concerns.

Councillor Sally Coneron (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) said Conservatives are not against devolution ‘in principle’.

But she added that this expression of interest is ‘not neutral’ and sends ‘a signal’ to the Government.

Cllr Coneron said: “[The expression of interest] creates some momentum, some expectation and some pressure to keep going, even when serious concerns emerge later.

“Once that signal is given it becomes much harder for us to step back. That doesn’t feel like our choice, a local choice. It feels like pressure from the centre.”

Cllr Julian Sharpe (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) agreed and said that once the council ‘steps onto this track’ scrutiny will be replaced by speed.

But the leader of the council, Cllr Simon Werner (Lib Dem, Pinkneys Green) reassured councillors that the Royal Borough is not committing to the mayoral model and is only deciding to ‘get the facts’.

Before any final decisions are made, further updates will be brought back to the council for scrutiny.

Cllr Werner said: “What devolution is about is that increasingly, the Government is going to only be giving big money to mayoral strategic authorities. So, if we want a piece of that pie, then we have to have a mayor for the Thames Valley.

“I’m not a fan of combined authority mayors. It’s putting too much power in the hands of one person.…[But] we have to live with it. We have to be the adults in the room.”

But Cllr Suzanne Cross (Ind, Bray) said the borough is not currently part of the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme which means the council would not be able to directly become a mayoral strategic authority.

Cllr Cross said the only ‘viable’ option available now is to become a foundation authority.

A foundation strategic authority is a non-mayoral set-up. Councils can work together formally, but without an elected mayor.

Because there is no mayor, the Government only passes down limited powers and funding. It is essentially a way of getting a foot in the door on devolution, but it does not unlock the bigger budgets or control over things like transport and long-term investment.

A mayoral strategic authority is the full version. It covers a wider area, has an elected mayor, and comes with much stronger powers and far more funding from central Government.

Also speaking at the meeting, resident Andrew Hill also said that a foundation strategic authority is, in fact, what the council is expressing an interest in.

Replying to Mr Hill, Cllr Werner said that in a statement made on December 4, Steve Reed, the minister for housing, communities and local government, explained becoming a foundation strategic authority is a stepping stone towards later having a strategic mayor.

He added: “To get the big rewards we need to be pursuing the strategic mayoral authority.”

Cllr Helen Price (Ind, Clewer and Dedworth East) said in order to find out more about devolution, the council inevitably needs to express an interest.

Cllr Price said: “I think it’s madness to say ‘no, we’re not going to find out more. We just don’t like it so we’re going to sit here and just wait and see what happens’. And then it’s too late.”

Councillors ultimately backed the expression of interest, with 22 votes in support, eight against and one abstention.