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Mayoral Council for England
Mayoral Council for England
Type
Type	Forum for the regional mayors of England
History
Founded	10 October 2024; 2 months ago
Leadership
Chair	Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Structure
Seats	13
Political groups	Labour Party (12); Conservative Party (1);
Meeting place
	First meeting of the Mayoral Council in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 10 October 2024

The Mayoral Council for England is a political body in England that brings together ministers from the UK Government, the Mayor of London, and combined authority mayors.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

History

Background

David Cameron's proposed English Cabinet of Mayors

UK prime minister David Cameron proposed in 2012 that England's directly elected mayors sit within an "English Cabinet of Mayors", giving them the opportunity to share ideas and represent their regions at English national level. This proposed cabinet of mayors would have been chaired by the prime minister and meet at least twice a year.^[5]^[6] However, no action was taken to form such a body.

Gordon Brown's proposed Council of England

Plans for a "Council of England" featured in a 2022 Labour Party report on constitutional reform by Gordon Brown titled A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy.^[7] The proposed council would be chaired by the prime minister and would include leaders of combined authorities, the mayor of London, representatives of local government and other stakeholders in England. Earlier, Labour's manifesto for the 2017 general election included a commitment to establish the post of a "Minister for England" within the Department of Communities and Local Government.^[8]^[9]

Dunlop Review's proposed English Regions Forum

The 2021 The Dunlop Review into UK Government Union Capability suggested that consideration could be given to establishing an "English Regions Forum" to "feed views in from sub-national governments in England to UK Government ministers".^[10]^[11]^[12]

Electoral Reform Society's proposed English Leaders' Forum

A 2022 report by the Electoral Reform Society suggested the establishment of an "English Leaders' Forum" to bring together UK ministers with combined authority mayors, single local authority mayors and council leaders. It also suggested the creation of an "England Office" to act as a representative for English local government to the UK government and serve to coordinate between central and local government on English devolved matters.^[13]

Onward's proposed National Mayors Association

Conservative leaning think tank Onward proposed the formation of a National Mayors Association and creation of various Joint Delivery Taskforces involving the UK central government, metro mayors and local authorities in a report titled Give Back Control published in 2022.^[14]^[15]

Devolving English Government report's proposed English Devolution Council

In a report titled Devolving English Government published in April 2023, to counter what they described as over-centralisation and a democratic deficit in England, the Institute for Government and the University of Cambridge's Bennett Institute for Public Policy proposed the formation of an "English Devolution Council", and the establishment of an "Office for England" led by a "Secretary of State for England". Under the proposals the English Devolution Council would include the mayor of London and existing combined authority mayors. An interim mechanism would be put in place for the participation of local leaders in areas of England without a mayoral combined authority. The role of the council would be to debate issues related to local and regional governance in England, to call ministers and experts to provide evidence and to advise the UK central Government on English affairs. The Existing Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government would be split into a Department for Housing and Communities and an Office for England, which would take on responsibility for oversight of devolved and local governance in England. The Secretary of State for England would chair a cabinet committee for England including other secretaries of state from departments whose remits mainly apply to England only.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Establishment

Following Labour's victory in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the new prime minister Keir Starmer informally met England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London on 9 July.^[19]^[20] The first formal meeting of the Mayoral Council, chaired by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, took place on 10 October 2024 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the council is expected to meet on a quarterly basis. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it set up the Mayoral Council to "strengthen the relationships between central government and the mayors" ahead of publishing a white paper on devolution.^[1]^[21]^[22] The first meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions, which also included England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London, took place the following day.

Unlike the proposed "Council of England", the Mayoral Council does not include local government representatives in areas without a mayoral combined authority, or other stakeholders. However, at the 2024 Labour Party Conference, Labour reiterated its commitment to English devolution, saying that all areas of England "should eventually be covered by mayoral devolution", which would mean that the Mayoral Council would eventually evolve into an all-England forum.^[23]

Mayors Network (M10 Group)

Combined authority mayors and the Mayor of London also meet informally on a monthly basis as the Mayors Network (M10 Group) allowing them to consult each other, coordinate their actions, and gain access to UK government ministers.^[24]^[25]^[26] This network has been chaired by Tracy Barbin since May 2022 and previously by Dan Jarvis.^[27]^[28]

Purpose

The English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024 stated that the functions and aims of the Mayoral Council are as follows:

"The Council will be the key forum for engagement between central government and Mayors on Local Growth Plans, pushing the frontier on devolution, feeding back on how best to deliver on the ground, and identifying opportunities to better coordinate national and local policy."^[29]

Membership

As of October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England is represented on the council.^[30]

The membership of the Mayoral Council is currently as follows:

	Authority	Position within authority
Angela Rayner	Government of the United Kingdom	Deputy Prime Minister Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Sadiq Khan	Greater London Authority	Mayor of London
Nik Johnson	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority	Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Claire Ward	East Midlands Combined County Authority	Mayor of the East Midlands
Andy Burnham	Greater Manchester Combined Authority	Mayor of Greater Manchester
Steve Rotheram	Liverpool City Region Combined Authority	Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Kim McGuinness	North East Combined Authority	Mayor of the North East
Oliver Coppard	South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority	Mayor of South Yorkshire
Ben Houchen	Tees Valley Combined Authority	Mayor of the Tees Valley
Richard Parker	West Midlands Combined Authority	Mayor of the West Midlands
Dan Norris	West of England Combined Authority	Mayor of the West of England
Tracy Brabin	West Yorkshire Combined Authority	Mayor of West Yorkshire
David Skaith	York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority	Mayor of York and North Yorkshire

The membership of the council will increase as new mayoral combined authorities are established in England. In September 2024, mayoral combined authorities were approved for Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire with mayors for these authorities expected to be elected in May 2025.^[31]

Meetings and activities

Meetings

An unofficial meeting of mayors was held in July 2024 and the first formal meeting of the council took place in October 2024.

The council is expected to meet four times a year.^[21]

Meetings of the Mayoral Council for England
Date	Location
9 July 2024 (unofficial)	10 Downing Street, Westminster
10 October 2024	The Common Room, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Activities

Members of the council participated in the Global Investment Summit at the London Guildhall on 14 October 2024.^[32]^[33] Mayors met Chancellor of the Exchquer Rachel Reeves on 12 December 2024.^[34]

References

^ ^a ^b "Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
^ Jones, Polly (11 October 2024). "Mayoral Council meets to discuss devolution". Government Business.
^ "The Deputy Prime Minister chairs the Council of Mayors meeting". Flickr.
^ Peters, Dan (10 October 2024). "Relationship reset". Municipal Journal.
^ "Mayoral referendums: The mayors of the twinned cities". BBC News. 19 April 2012.
^ "Rival campaigns fight over directly-elected mayors in England". BBC News. 12 April 2012.
^ Mason, Rowena; Brooks, Libby (4 December 2022). "Labour unveils plan to overhaul constitution and replace the Lords". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ https://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix/ukmanifestos2017/localpdf/Labour.pdf
^ https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/37545/like-it-or-not-keir-starmer-will-not-win-without-england
^ "The Dunlop Review into UK Government Union capability".
^ https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/metro-mayors-and-whitehall-need-a-better-way-to-work-together/
^ https://policyexchange.org.uk/blogs/andrew-dunlop-on-the-future-of-the-union/
^ "Democracy Made in England: Where Next for English Local Government?".
^ https://www.ukonward.com/reports/give-back-control-mayors-devolution/
^ https://www.localgov.co.uk/Unleash-wave-of-mayoral-devo-says-think-tank/54389
^ "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall". 6 April 2023..
^ "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall – report". 6 April 2023.
^ "Devolving English government".
^ "Devolution delivery for first mayoral meeting". GOV.UK (Press release). 9 July 2024.
^ "UK politics live: Keir Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News. 9 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Rayner launches Mayoral Council | Local Government Chronicle (LGC)". lgcplus.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
^ Holland, Daniel (10 October 2024). "Mayor defends Labour devolution plans and calls for more powers for North East". Chronicle Live.
^ White, Hannah; Thomas, Alex; Tetlow, Gemma; Pope, Thomas; Davies, Nick; Davison, Nehal; Metcalfe, Sophie; Paun, Akash (26 September 2024). "Seven things we learned from the Labour Party Conference 2024". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
^ https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/1706a4b2-9908-4524-94af-a248f85132f8
^ Anderson, Paul (1 May 2024). "Metro mayors and Whitehall need a better way to work together". London School of Economics and Political Science.
^ "D57f3741-c76e-4094-b058-91f5057ab58b".
^ "Mayor of West Yorkshire, to Chair the 'M10' Group of Metro Mayors".
^ https://jamiedriscoll.co.uk/achievements/working-with-other-mayors/
^ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-devolution-white-paper-power-and-partnership-foundations-for-growth/english-devolution-white-paper#how-we-will-deliver-devolution-in-england
^ "English devolution". 21 June 2024.
^ "Four devolution agreements signed off and others progressing".
^ "England's mayors in diplomacy dance to shift balance of power". Financial Times. 17 October 2024.
^ "The Deputy Prime Minister attends the International Investment Summit". Flickr.
^ https://x.com/RachelReevesMP/status/1867263850917277785

External links

The Deputy Prime Minister chairs the Council of Mayors meeting

[gov.uk-1] "Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 October 2024.

[2] Jones, Polly (11 October 2024). "Mayoral Council meets to discuss devolution". Government Business.

[3] "The Deputy Prime Minister chairs the Council of Mayors meeting". Flickr.

[4] Peters, Dan (10 October 2024). "Relationship reset". Municipal Journal.

[5] "Mayoral referendums: The mayors of the twinned cities". BBC News. 19 April 2012.

[6] "Rival campaigns fight over directly-elected mayors in England". BBC News. 12 April 2012.

[theguardian-7] Mason, Rowena; Brooks, Libby (4 December 2022). "Labour unveils plan to overhaul constitution and replace the Lords". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[8] ttps://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix/ukmanifestos2017/localpdf/Labour.pdf

[9] ttps://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/37545/like-it-or-not-keir-starmer-will-not-win-without-england

[10] "The Dunlop Review into UK Government Union capability".

[11] ttps://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/metro-mayors-and-whitehall-need-a-better-way-to-work-together/

[12] ttps://policyexchange.org.uk/blogs/andrew-dunlop-on-the-future-of-the-union/

[13] "Democracy Made in England: Where Next for English Local Government?".

[14] ttps://www.ukonward.com/reports/give-back-control-mayors-devolution/

[15] ttps://www.localgov.co.uk/Unleash-wave-of-mayoral-devo-says-think-tank/54389

[16] "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall". 6 April 2023..

[17] "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall – report". 6 April 2023.

[18] "Devolving English government".

[19] "Devolution delivery for first mayoral meeting". GOV.UK (Press release). 9 July 2024.

[20] "UK politics live: Keir Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News. 9 July 2024.

[lgcplus-21] "Rayner launches Mayoral Council | Local Government Chronicle (LGC)". lgcplus.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.

[22] Holland, Daniel (10 October 2024). "Mayor defends Labour devolution plans and calls for more powers for North East". Chronicle Live.

[23] White, Hannah; Thomas, Alex; Tetlow, Gemma; Pope, Thomas; Davies, Nick; Davison, Nehal; Metcalfe, Sophie; Paun, Akash (26 September 2024). "Seven things we learned from the Labour Party Conference 2024". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

[24] ttps://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/1706a4b2-9908-4524-94af-a248f85132f8

[25] Anderson, Paul (1 May 2024). "Metro mayors and Whitehall need a better way to work together". London School of Economics and Political Science.

[26] "D57f3741-c76e-4094-b058-91f5057ab58b".

[27] "Mayor of West Yorkshire, to Chair the 'M10' Group of Metro Mayors".

[28] ttps://jamiedriscoll.co.uk/achievements/working-with-other-mayors/

[29] ttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-devolution-white-paper-power-and-partnership-foundations-for-growth/english-devolution-white-paper#how-we-will-deliver-devolution-in-england

[30] "English devolution". 21 June 2024.

[31] "Four devolution agreements signed off and others progressing".

[32] "England's mayors in diplomacy dance to shift balance of power". Financial Times. 17 October 2024.

[33] "The Deputy Prime Minister attends the International Investment Summit". Flickr.

[34] ttps://x.com/RachelReevesMP/status/1867263850917277785

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Mayoral Council for England