
The county council must make its position on devolution geography clear
Published 24 January 2025
Cllr Bethia Thomas, the Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council has written to Cllr Liz Leffman, the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, urging her to move swiftly to explain her council’s position on a preferred geography for a Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Councils across the region, including representatives from Berkshire and Swindon will be attending a meeting in Oxford on 31 January to discuss a range of matters relating to government plans to reform local councils. One of the topics will be the potential geography for the large regional Strategic Authority that Oxfordshire would become part of.
Swindon Borough Council’s Leader, Cllr Jim Robbins, has already stressed a preference to “look East” towards Oxfordshire, and Cllr Thomas has raised concerns that lack of clarity from Oxfordshire County Council as the upper-tier council in Oxfordshire on its preferred geography will mean the meeting on 31 January will not enable the area to move quickly on devolution and local government reorganisation.
Speaking after sending the letter, Cllr Thomas said: “The Vale is immediately to the east of Swindon – I’m concerned that the Vale would be most impacted by being placed under a strategic authority that includes the town given the two areas have very different economic priorities. It’s important we’re not on the back foot, so the county council needs to provide clarity on its geographical preference and actively engage with councils across that area now.”
Cllr Thomas has previously stated her preference that the Strategic Authority Area be focused on the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West area (familiarly known as the BOB), or the Thames Valley.
In her letter, Cllr Thomas said: “I would like to see rapid discussion being held with the Berkshire Councils, and ideally with Buckinghamshire as well as I believe there are strong factors that would make either Oxfordshire and the Berkshires, or Oxfordshire, the Berkshires and Buckinghamshire an effective Mayoral Strategic Authority geography.
“I would not support the inclusion of Swindon within such an authority, because I do not believe that they are economically or demographically linked to the BOB or the wider Thames Valley area in the same way the Berkshires or Buckinghamshire are.”
Cllr Thomas also drew reference to a letter sent by a number of Oxfordshire MPs to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution in which they state “There is a pressing need for Berkshire authorities to arrive at a shared understanding both for their future form as well as other discussions on devolution geography, and potentially working with Buckinghamshire. Within all of this, we are assured that the [Oxfordshire] County Council is committed to moving forward.”
Swindon’s Leader, Cllr Robbins has stated his borough wants to look east for a Strategic Authority geography. Cllr Thomas has urged Cllr Leffman to show the same clarity by setting out what she believes would be the best Mayoral Strategic Authority geography for Oxfordshire to be part of.
You can read Cllr Thomas’s letter in full on the council’s website here.