Leader of Oxford City Council addresses Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet about devolution

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council, addressed Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet yesterday to oppose the County Council’s devolution plans. 

The Government wants to create new mayors across regions of England, which would have devolved powers and money to coordinate housing, transport and economic growth. 

It then wants to merge district and county councils within the mayoral regions to create ‘unitary authorities’ that would carry out the day-to-day work of existing councils. 

Oxfordshire County Council has asked the Government to fast track plans to merge Oxfordshire’s councils, which could see the County Council’s elections in May cancelled.

The City Council believes the boundaries of the new Thames Valley mayoral authority should be decided before any of the councils within the Thames Valley are merged. 

We also think cancelling the County Council elections, with no realistic prospect of a successor authority being in place quickly, risks creating a democratic deficit. 

People across Oxfordshire have a right to vote on the current administration’s record. 

As the County Council ignored our views at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, we have written to the Government today to set them out.

Watch the full Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet meeting from Thursday 9 January 2025: https://oxon.cc/Cabinet09012025