Midlands mayor rules out bringing in Warwickshire

The Mayor of the West Midlands has said while he has no ambitions for neighbouring Warwickshire to fall within his patch, he is working on projects that may benefit a county that he hopes will develop its own devolution plans.

Richard Parker's mayoral beat includes the city of Coventry but stops short of the wider Warwickshire county, and that, he told BBC CWR, made for the "right size".

While there has been a will in some quarters to supersize the arrangement, Parker says his priorities lie with his responsibilities as they already stand, but some of that work may cross over the border in terms of opportunity for residents.

Warwickshire's current county, district and borough councils are due to be replaced in two years' time by two new unitary authorities serving the north and south of the county, but under that model, Parker suggests, there is still scope for greater local autonomy.

"It really is up to the leadership, the business, the politicians and the people in Warwickshire, to develop their own proposition for devolution that is right for them," he said.

From next April, it is expected the chancellor will give metro mayors like Richard Parker a share of the Treasury's national income tax take, giving them greater power and resource to influence job creation, house building and local transport plans.

Warwickhire will not fall within that scope, although the county council did - in 2023 - agree to explore the possibility of becoming a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority, the governance model overseen by Parker and those who came before him.

That position was reinforced two years later when the Reform UK-led county backed plans to create a "super-council"..

Despite that, the government recommended a two-council solution, which is due to replace the existing system of county, district and borough councils in 2028.

Parker, Labour, who was elected in May 2024, said he was working with his team at the WMCA to build a new agreement with the areas bordering the authority, so they get some benefit from his plans.

He added: "It has been up to the political leadership in those places to frame and develop their own proposition for devolution.

"I would just encourage them to work together, to collaborate, to develop their own propositions around devolution that are the right solution and framed in the right way for the people of Warwickshire."

As for Warwickshire becoming part of his patch, he said: "The project I've got for the West Midlands is large enough.

"I think for me, there are ambitions I've got for this region, the priorities we've got, the resources, the way we're devolving, that I think the West Midlands is the right size.

"I'm pretty certain the prime minister agrees with me and there are no plans currently to extend the boundaries of the WMCA.

"But developing the relationship around the conurbation is important to me and to us."

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