Oxfordshire could get its own regional mayor under new devolution plans
A devolution plan that could see elections for a Greater Manchester-style mayor for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Swindon held by 2028 has progressed.
This week was the cut-off for councils to support a devolution deal and secure funding for a new authority ahead of the budget.
On the final day, council leaders backed the plan, which could create a directly elected mayor position to oversee transport, infrastructure and economic growth for the region, including the towns of Slough, Newbury, Reading and Swindon.
Buckinghamshire could be added in future, stretching the geography of the authority to cover Aylesbury and High Wycombe.
In yesterday’s budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, said the Thames Valley region, and nine others across the country including Surrey, Hertfordshire and Wessex, will progress with plans for a mayoral strategic authority.
The Thames Valley plan was described as in “the final stages” of being agreed.
For just under two years, councils have been working on a proposal for a devolved body for the area, with similar powers and funding as the mayors of London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.
On Monday, October 26, a letter was submitted by the region’s Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem council leaders putting forward the plan – central government will have to decide whether to approve and fund this.
Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown said: “I am really pleased that we have finally submitted a letter to give support for a Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority.”
She said, if approved, the plan would be “enormously beneficial” for the region, allowing for the “inward investment that is needed”, adding “it’s been a long time coming”.
Figures which have been shared with councillors include predictions that the new mayoral authority would receive a £1.3 billion investment fund over 30 years, around £400 million for transport over four years, potential access to a further £750 million–£1 billion in future transport funding, hundreds of millions for affordable housing and £65–£75 million annually for skills and employment programmes
County and South Oxfordshire councillor Ian Snowdon said: “Subject to Government approval, public consultation is expected in January 2027, with the first mayoral election potentially taking place in May 2028.”
A shadow authority could be created in 2027.
This follows major uncertainty about whether devolution would go ahead in the region.
This summer the Liberal Democrat leaders of Oxfordshire County Council and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead withdrew their support for the plans as they wanted Swindon to be excluded from them and for the authority to have a mayor straight away.
At that time, councils had been told by the Starmer government that the Thames Valley would not be considered for an authority with a directly elected mayor from the get-go.
This has not yet been declined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and the region’s council leaders are hoping that a mayoral authority is back on the table.
Swindon continues to be included in the devolution deal, and according to Ms Brown, the door remains open to Buckinghamshire if it would want to get involved.
Responding to criticism about not getting on board with the new authority, Bucks’ Conservative leader Steve Broadbent said: “Suggestions that Buckinghamshire is ‘sitting on the sidelines’ are simply wrong.
“Our focus, first and foremost, is on ensuring that any decisions relating to devolution bring genuine, meaningful benefits for Buckinghamshire residents, businesses and communities.”
He said the council had actively engaged with government, pointing to Buckinghamshire’s existing devolution deal.
His response did not specify whether Bucks would seek to join the proposed Thames Valley authority or set out an alternative arrangement.
Sources have reported that an Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat meeting took place on Sunday, October 25, the day before the expiry of the government deadline for funding, to decide if their leader, Tim Bearder, would agree to back the plan and remove his veto.
A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: “We are now waiting for the government’s response.”
The county council and Mr Bearder refused to respond to questions about why the Lib Dems were deliberating on the plan the day before the cut-off, and what the decision-making process was for backing the devolution deal.
Lib Dem county councillor Nathan Ley has shared on social media that, alongside signing a letter supporting the plan and requesting government funding for it, Mr Bearder also sent a second letter, with the Royal Borough Leader Simon Werner, listing concerns he had with the deal.
According to Mr Ley, the Oxfordshire leader used the letter to criticise the geography of the potential mayoralty, with concerns about impact on Thames Valley Police and the Thames Valley NHS board, which cover Bucks, Berks and Oxon and not Swindon.
He also reportedly complained about the deadline and “take-it-or-leave-it choice” given by the Government.
South Oxfordshire’s leader Maggie Filipova-Rivers has claimed that “councils were given just two working days to consider proposals that could reshape public service boundaries across the Thames Valley for years to come”.
She added: “We have decided to support the decision to proceed to the next phase of discussions because it is important that residents have the opportunity to understand both the benefits and any implications of these proposals.
“We will continue to work constructively with government and neighbouring authorities to ensure the process is evidence-based, transparent and properly informed by local views before any final decisions are taken.
“Our shared ambition should be to deliver devolution that is financially sustainable, democratically accountable and grounded in the needs and identities of the communities it is intended to serve.”
Mr Bearder has further criticised the timing of devolution coming alongside local government reorganisation, which could see Oxfordshire’s current two-tier councils abolished in the near future if an ongoing review comes to the same conclusion on the issue as Keir Starmer’s government.