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Mayoral Council for England

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Mayoral Council for England
Formation10 October 2024; 22 months ago (2024-10-10)
PurposeForum for UK government ministers and England's strategic authority mayors
Region served
England
Chair
TBA

The Mayoral Council for England is a forum for UK government ministers and England's strategic authority mayors.[1][2][3][4]

History

[edit]

Background

[edit]

David Cameron's proposed English Cabinet of Mayors

[edit]

UK prime minister David Cameron proposed in 2012 that England's directly elected local authority mayors sit within an "English Cabinet of Mayors", giving them the opportunity to share ideas and represent their areas 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, following the 2012 English mayoral referendums, no action was taken to form such a body.

Proposed English Leaders' Forum

[edit]

An "English Leader's Forum" was proposed by a report titled "Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?" published in The Political Quarterly in 2020. The English Leaders' Forum would bring together combined authority mayors and local government representatives and would focus on matters relevant to English sub-national government, such as regional funding, further devolution of powers, and the regulation of the internal market in areas where devolution has taken place.[7] The report also proposed the creation of the position of "Minister for England" with responsibility for representing English interests within intergovernmental bodies.[7]

Gordon Brown's proposed Council of England

[edit]

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.[8] The proposed council would be chaired by the prime minister and would include leaders of combined authorities, the mayor of London, representatives of English local government and other stakeholders. 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.[9][10]

Dunlop Review's proposed English Regions Forum

[edit]

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".[11][12][13]

Electoral Reform Society's proposed English Leaders' Forum

[edit]

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.[14]

Onward's proposed National Mayors Association

[edit]

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.[15][16]

Institute for Government and Bennett Institute's proposed English Devolution Council

[edit]

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.[17][18][19]

Establishment

[edit]

Following Labour's victory in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the new prime minister Keir Starmer informally met the directly elected mayors of London, the combined authorities and combined county authorities on 9 July.[20][21] The first formal meeting of the Mayoral Council for England, chaired by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, 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][22][23] The first meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions, which also included these mayors took place the following day.

Unlike the proposed "Council of England", the Mayoral Council does not include local government representatives or other stakeholders to represent areas without a strategic authority mayor. At the 2024 Labour Party Conference, government ministers reiterated their 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.[24]

In February 2026, English Liberal Democrat peer Lord Wallace of Saltaire proposed an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill that would have enshrined the Mayoral Council for England in law.[25]

A report published by the Re:State think tank in July 2026 recommended transforming the Mayoral Council into a "Council of Strategic Authorities" chaired by the prime minister or a minister in charge of the new No 10 North.[26]

Ministerial responsibility

[edit]

Meetings of the Mayoral Council for England were chaired by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. A junior minister for English Devolution was also first appointed in July 2024.[27] In July 2026, prime minister Andy Burnham transferred responsibility for English devolution from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the newly established No. 10 North in Manchester.

Mayoral Data Council

[edit]

A Mayoral Data Council was outlined in the English Devolution White Paper and was established in November 2024.[28] Katherine Fairclough, Chief Executive of the Liverpool City Region Mayoral Strategic Authority, was appointed chair of the Mayoral Data Council in February 2026.[29]

Purpose

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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."[30]

Membership

[edit]

At establishment in October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England was represented on the council.[31] This increased to more than half of the population of England following mayoral elections in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire in May 2025.

Areas of England represented on the Mayoral Council are shown in red
Council members in May 2025

The membership of the Mayoral Council is as follows:

Name Authority Position within authority
TBA Government of the United Kingdom TBA
Sadiq Khan Greater London Authority Mayor of London
Paul Bristow Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Claire Ward East Midlands Combined County Authority Mayor of the East Midlands
Andrea Jenkyns Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire
Bev Craig Greater Manchester Combined Authority Mayor of Greater Manchester
Luke Campbell Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire
Steve Rotheram Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Kim McGuinness North East Mayoral Strategic Authority Mayor of the North East
Oliver Coppard South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Mayor of South Yorkshire
The Lord Houchen of High Leven Tees Valley Combined Authority Mayor of the Tees Valley
Richard Parker West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor of the West Midlands
Helen Godwin 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 strategic authority mayoralties are created. As of June 2026, new strategic authorities have been established in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Sussex and Brighton, and Hampshire and the Solent. Mayors of these new strategic authorities are scheduled to be elected in 2027 or 2028.

Meetings

[edit]
Unofficial meeting of Mayors in July 2024
First official meeting of the Mayoral Council in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 10 October 2024

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 meets up to four times a year.[22]

Meetings of the Mayoral Council for England
Date Location Chair
9 July 2024 (unofficial)[32] 10 Downing Street,
London		 Keir Starmer
10 October 2024[33][34] The Common Room,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne		 Angela Rayner
23 January 2025[35] Advanced Manufacturing Park,
Rotherham		 Angela Rayner
23 May 2025[36] Lancaster House,
London		 Angela Rayner
4 September 2025[37] Chatsworth House,
Bakewell[38]		 Angela Rayner
19 March 2026[39] Bristol and Bath Science Park,
South Gloucestershire[40][41]		 Steve Reed
4 June 2026[42][43] National STEM Learning Centre, University of York[44]
York[45]		 Steve Reed

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ Kasprzak, Emma (19 April 2012). "Mayoral referendums: The mayors of the twinned cities". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Rival campaigns fight over directly-elected mayors in England". BBC News. 12 April 2012.
  7. 1 2 McEwen, Nicola; Kenny, Michael; Sheldon, Jack; Brown Swan, Coree (2020). "Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?". The Political Quarterly. 91 (3): 632–640. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12862. PMC 7323457. PMID 32836409.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "For the Many not the Few: The Labour Party Manifesto 2017" (PDF). Lancaster University. 2017.
  10. ↑ Jones, Richard Wyn; Henderson, Ailsa (23 April 2021). "Like it or not, Keir Starmer will not win without England". Prospect.
  11. ↑ "The Dunlop Review into UK Government Union capability". GOV.UK. 24 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Anderson, Paul (1 May 2024). "Metro mayors and Whitehall need a better way to work together". London School of Economics and Political Science.
  13. ↑ Dunlop, Andrew (10 February 2021). "Andrew Dunlop on the Future of the Union". Policy Exchange.
  14. ↑ Palese, Michela (9 March 2022). "Democracy Made in England: Where Next for English Local Government?". Electoral reform Society.
  15. ↑ Hawksbee, Adam (18 June 2022). "Give Back Control: Realising the Potential of Mayors". Onward.
  16. ↑ McGauran, Ann (20 June 2022). "Unleash wave of mayoral devo, says think tank". LocalGov.
  17. ↑ Lewsey, Fred (6 April 2023). "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall". University of Cambridge.
  18. ↑ "England needs a 'council of mayors' and Secretary of State to embed English devolution at the heart of Whitehall – report". The Bennett Institute for Public Policy. 6 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Devolving English government". The Bennett Institute for Public Policy. 6 April 2023.
  20. ↑ "Devolution delivery for first mayoral meeting". GOV.UK (Press release). 9 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "UK politics live: Keir Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News. 9 July 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Rayner launches Mayoral Council | Local Government Chronicle (LGC)". lgcplus.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  23. ↑ Holland, Daniel (10 October 2024). "Mayor defends Labour devolution plans and calls for more powers for North East". Chronicle Live.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ "Amendment 181 to English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 to English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament".
  26. ↑ https://re-state.co.uk/publications/building-no-10-north/
  27. ↑ "Appointments: 12 May 2026". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Mayoral Data Council – MHCLG Digital". 6 November 2025.
  29. ↑ https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/news/katherine-fairclough-appointed-as-new-chair-of-the-mayoral-data-council
  30. ↑ "English Devolution White Paper: 2. How we will deliver devolution in England". GOV.UK. 16 December 2024.
  31. ↑ Henderson, Duncan; et al. (21 June 2024). "English devolution". Institute for Government.
  32. ↑ "Driving local growth through a "new era" of devolution: No 10 mayoral roundtable". Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  33. ↑ "The governance of the Union". Monitor (88). University College London Constitution Unit. November 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  34. ↑ "Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council". SLCC. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  35. ↑ Sebestyen, Roland (23 January 2025). "Angela Rayner visits South Yorkshire for second 'Mayoral Council meeting'". The Star. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  36. ↑ "Straight to the top – Mayor meets with Prime Minister". Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  37. ↑ https://x.com/AngelaRayner/status/1963645944303431793
  38. ↑ https://democracy.eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MeetingId=203
  39. ↑ "England's mayors and ministers gather in West Country for first time – West of England Combined Authority". 19 March 2026.
  40. ↑ "Showcasing innovation at the heart of the West of England".
  41. ↑ "March: England's mayors and ministers gather in West Country for first time | News and features | University of Bristol".
  42. ↑ "PM meets mayors in drive to get Britain building and take on blockers".
  43. ↑ https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/05/york-central-visit-mayoral-council-meeting-and-scarborough-pride-in-place/
  44. ↑ "Talks ongoing to increase number of affordable homes at York Central, says PM".
  45. ↑ "Mayor welcomes Right to Request as 'devolution revolution' delivers for communities – East Midlands Combined County Authority".
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