Council leaders unite in call for new regional mayor

Council bosses from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have united in a call for the government to establish a regional mayor for the area.

The leaders of the 10 councils that currently serve the area have written to ministers saying a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) offers "the strongest platform" to attract funding and deliver economic growth in the future.

The group has asked the government to offer clarity on any potential timetable for setting up an MSA and details on what funding and devolved powers would be available to the new mayor.

Current Labour mayor of Leicester Peter Soulsby said he hoped a regional mayor could be in post by 2028.

However, he ruled himself out of standing for election for the position.

"I do think there will be many, many good candidates to be the regional mayor," Soulsby told the BBC.

"But I will not be one of them. My focus has always been on the city and it will remain so."

Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently said he wanted to devolve powers to Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland "as soon as possible".

A new regional mayor could expect extra funding from Whitehall and powers over transport, housing and adult education.

Soulsby said he believed the role should also incorporate oversight of the police and fire service locally.

His current mayoral position will be abolished in a major political shake-up that will see the 10 existing district, city and county councils dissolved and replaced with two unitary authorities.

He told the BBC he hoped the establishment of an MSA could be timed to coincide with the creation of the new councils in 2028.

The letter has been sent to First Secretary of State Louise Haigh, and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner.

It has been signed by Leicestershire County Council's Reform UK leader Dan Harrison and Liberal Democrat Rutland County Council leader Christine Wise.

It has also been signed by Labour Charnwood Borough Council leader Jewel Miah.

Ben Taylor, the Conservative leader of Blaby District Council, the Tory leaders of Harborough District Council and North West Leicestershire District Council, Simon Whelband and Richard Blunt, have also put their names to it, along with Conservative Melton Borough Council leader Ronan Browne.

Stuart Bray and Samia Haq, the Liberal Democrat leaders of Hinckley and Bosworth District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, have also signed it.

Reform's Harrison said: "We've been missing out by not having a regional mayor.

"We've been the shabby neighbours to the West Midlands and the East Midlands [combined authorities] but now we have to be creative.

"If we get a mayor, and the sooner the better, there will be huge opportunities for us."

Councils in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire agreed to establish an East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCAA), led by a directly elected mayor, in 2022.

However, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland did not join.

At the time, Soulsby argued it would be "daft" to have two mayors in the same area but he now said the political landscape had shifted.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment about the letter.

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