New mayor and spending powers for Staffordshire and Stoke welcomed

Labour MPs across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have welcomed a Budget announcement of a new Mayoral Strategic Authority for the area.

Subject to agreement with Government, they say the new authority could be set up in autumn 2027, with a mayor elected in May 2028.

The statement was issued by nine MPs: Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter), Sarah Edwards (Tamworth), Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South), Leigh Ingham (Stafford), Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme), Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase), Dave Robertson (Lichfield), Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) and David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North).

They said: "This is great news for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. For too long, decisions about our future have been made too far away. Devolution means putting more power in the hands of people who understand our communities, so we can back local jobs and businesses, improve transport and skills, and bring investment to the places that need it."

Mr Snell said: "We've watched as the West Midlands, the East Midlands and big city regions motor ahead with investment in buses, building new roads and creating new jobs and now it's Stoke-on-Trent's turn to see the benefits of devolution. There is still work to do to get this right but this announcement is a huge step forward."

Mr Jogee said: "Every day, we see challenges here that are crying out for more joined-up thinking across the region, and for decisions to be made closer to home by people who are accountable to local communities and understand the problems that need fixing, rather than seeing us as just more numbers on a spreadsheet in Whitehall."

What the councils say

The councils say the authority would work alongside local councils, not replace them.

They say councils will continue to provide services including household bin collections, social care, children's services, council tax and street cleaning, with no immediate changes for people, staff or services.

They also say devolution is separate from local government reorganisation.

Councillor Hayley Coles, Acting Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: "It is a chance for us to have a stronger voice and more say over the important decisions that affect us."

Jane Ashworth, Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "This is an important step forward in giving Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire the powers and funding we deserve to shape our future."

She also said: "Without an MSA we would inevitably have to watch other places get more, simply because they have a mayor and we do not. An MSA puts us at the head of the pack."

The Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Councillor Jonathan Gullis, has also responded to the news.

He said: "I have always been a supporter of genuine devolution and therefore welcome the Government's announcement that it is in the final stages of agreeing a Strategic Mayoral Authority for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, which has the potential to bring decision-making closer to the communities we serve."

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