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Burnham asked to back Thames Valley mayoral plans

Victoria WaltonOxfordshire political reporter
News imageReuters Andy Burnham is standing in front of a green background. He is a white man with dark hair and is wearing glasses, a black t-shirt and blue jacket with a yellow bee pin badge.Reuters
Oxfordshire County Council has appealed to Andy Burnham to help bring an elected mayor to the Thames Valley

Stalled plans for a directly elected mayor for the Thames Valley could return after an appeal to the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to support the idea.

The region's political leaders had been due to agree to become a foundation strategic authority (FSA) last month.

But concerns about the inclusion of Swindon, as well as the lesser powers of an FSA compared to a mayoral strategic authority (MSA), led to Oxfordshire County Council leader, Tim Bearder, withdrawing his support for the plans.

Bearder has now written to Burnham, asking for his backing to create a more powerful mayoral authority for the region, describing it as a "necessity for our area."

The correspondence comes two weeks after plans for a devolved regional authority for the Thames Valley were put on hold.

The decision not to proceed with an FSA, seen by government as a "stepping stone" to becoming an MSA, were heavily criticised by other parties across the Thames Valley.

Leader of Reading Borough Council, Liz Terry, accused Bearder of "playing politics" by walking away from a deal which she said would bring huge benefits for residents and businesses across the region.

News imageA man is standing outside a court building. He looks smart, wearing a blue jacket and light blue tie.
The leader of Oxfordshire County Council says the proposed Foundation Strategic Authority would not make a "meaningful difference".

Burnham, the newly elected MP for Makerfield is currently the only person in the running to become the next Labour leader and ultimately the UK's next prime minister.

In his letter, Bearder said the decision not to proceed with a FSA was not a "rejection of devolution".

He said the existing proposal "lacked the powers, funding and coherent geography needed to make a meaningful difference".

Appealing for Burnham's support to bring a mayoral authority to the Thames Valley, Bearder said the former Greater Manchester mayor's "long standing commitment to devolving power from Whitehall to local communities gives us confidence that there is now an opportunity to deliver meaningful constitutional reform for Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley".

Describing the Thames Valley as "one of Europe's leading centres for science, technology, innovation and advanced manufacturing", Bearder said the region "remains without the strategic powers enjoyed by many other parts of England".

A Thames Valley Startegic Authority would include around two million people with the value of goods and services for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon estimated at £97bn.