New devolved authority will not include Northants

6 hours ago

Mariam Issimdar

News image — The government says a South Midlands authority led by a mayor will not include Northamptonshire

Getty Images Northamptonshire flag, England, waving in the wind, sky and sun background. — The government says a South Midlands authority led by a mayor will not include Northamptonshire

The government has decided that Northamptonshire will not be included in its devolution plans for an area dubbed the South Midlands Strategic Authority.

Instead, Jim McMahon, the minister for local government, devolution and growth, confirmed Central Bedfordshire, Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, could push forward with a strategic authority.

Mark Arnull, leader of West Northamptonshire Council, which is run by Reform UK, expressed his disappointment.

He said: "We will continue to engage constructively with government and neighbouring authorities to secure the best possible devolution settlement for our residents, businesses and communities."

In a letter to Arnull and Martin Griffiths, the leader of North Northamptonshire Council, the minister said, while recognising the leaders' preference for being part of the South Midlands Strategic Authority, he understood this was not supported by the four other councils.

McMahon added he was "not minded to further explore this option" and would support a BLMK (Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes) footprint.

He said the department would be willing to look at further devolution opportunities for Northamptonshire, and understood the councils were already in conversations with other neighbouring authorities.

Mark Arnull is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and purple patterned tie. He has a Northamptonshire flag pin. He is wearing dark glasses. — Mark Arnull says including Northamptonshire in the authority could have been a natural fit

On Wednesday, Arnull addressed an extraordinary meeting of Milton Keynes City Council on the subject of devolution.

He said: "If devolution is about economic reality and not administrative convenience, why are West Northants and North Northants Councils not part of the conversation?

"A geography of almost 1.9m people and more than £60bn of economic output provides a compelling case for devolution built around economic reality rather than administrative convenience.

"Businesses recruit across our borders, the M1, the A5, our labour market, our housing market, and our investment opportunities are very much aligned, and these are opportunities that bind us together."

Four Conservative MPs, South Northamptonshire's Sarah Bool, Daventry's Stuart Andrew, Blake Stephenson of Mid Bedfordshire and the North Bedfordshire MP, Richard Fuller, have written to the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Angela Rayner, urging them to "reconsider" the decision and back an authority that includes the Northamptonshire councils.

The government first published a White Paper setting out plans for English devolution, involving combined authorities with regional mayors, in December 2024.

Combined authorities led by an elected mayor are the government's preferred way of linking counties so they can be handed powers over issues like regional housing and transport.

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