Call to fast track elected Thames Valley mayor

Leaders in the Thames Valley have written to the government in the hope of fast tracking plans for an elected mayor for the region.

Councillors from Oxfordshire and Berkshire said they wanted to set up a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) as soon as possible.

That is despite continued disagreement over the proposed geography for the new authority, with Swindon and Buckinghamshire's inclusion still dividing opinion.

Addressing a scrutiny committee on the issue, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council Neil Fawcett said "we want to be at the start of the queue".

Under the government's devolution plans, all areas of England, with the possible exception of Cornwall, will come under a mayoral authority.

Each regional would have its own economic powers and more local control over where the money will be spent.

In an update to the council, Fawcett said this would be done "at pace" but it was still unclear how long the process would take and which areas would be prioritised.

The deputy leader said the Thames Valley "wanted the benefits" of having a mayor - including being able to introduce a hotel tax.

"We're not going to be messing around... we will get on with the job," he said.

It follows the region withdrawing from earlier plans to form a Foundation Stage Authority for the Thames Valley, considered by government as a stepping stone towards forming a mayoral authority.

That option included bringing Swindon into the authority's recommended footprint, something Fawcett described as "rubbish" and a "bad deal".

The deputy leader argued it still made no sense to include the town in the plans, as it lies outside of the health, police and fire service boundaries of the Thames Valley.

He also said most people who live in Swindon have "more movements" towards the west than towards the east.

But Fawcett made clear that working with Swindon would not now delay the process to bring a mayoral authority to the region.

While it was still the council's "strong preference" for the new authority to include just Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, Fawcett said it was "up to the government to decide".

"There is no good reason and no evidence to suggest another geography would work better," he said.

But if the final programme included the Wiltshire town "we're not going to take our ball home if a government minister comes to a different decision".