My conversation with Lord Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley
Director of Policy and Research
I had a fascinating conversation with Lord Ben Houchen in the latest Meetings with Mayors. The kind of conversation where we barely made a dent in all the attendees’ questions as they poured in!
Houchen is also the first non-Labour mayor we’ve had on the series (more of that to come soon!), which means that this one stands out – we heard a really different set of perspectives and ideas about the nature of the role of Mayor, the onward path for devolution, and more.
Here are some immediate reflections from our discussion.
Houchen has concerns about the “mission creep” future of devolution…
It didn’t take long to get to the point in our discussion where we identified what Houchen described as “a fork in the road” for devolution policy: a basic question which is not directly addressed by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill currently making its way through parliament.
The essential choice, from Houchen’s perspective, will be one of scope. As Strategic Authorities (SAs) spread, will mayors expect – or be expected to – take on ever greater responsibility for the huge complexity of services and governance that plays out within their remit? In previous events in the series, there has been a tendency to view this as something of an inevitability.
For Houchen, it’s about a tight focus on the areas where a regional body can add value: an emphasis on fostering economic growth, “and we should be careful about broadening that horizon”, since it could lead to bloated SAs “where the culture becomes flabby”.
…but there are areas where he wants much more power
Houchen said that “the single starting question” for the future course of devolution should be “will we go for fiscal devo.”
Later, he elaborated some radical ideas, including retention of income tax, corporation tax, or a locally implemented sales tax. He also acknowledged that this too could have the implication of further broadening the role of SAs and their mayors.
Strikingly, he also set out the case for abolishing the Arm's-Length Body Homes England and devolving its funding streams to mayors – exactly the argument of our report ‘New house rules’, published earlier this week (I promise I didn’t prompt the good Mayor to say this!).
A case for things-as-they-are
Beyond these clear calls for deeper powers, Houchen came across as a pragmatist. He prefers operating on the basis of clear unanimity with all the members of his Combined Authority Board (who are usually, and currently, a collection of Labour politicians). He could reel off some projects that were shelved because they would “never get past the board”, though.
Similarly, he feels that Tees Valley is about the right size and shape – any larger and it would be harder to make a self-evident case for investment in one area without annoying some other area. Moreover, he feels the current geography maps onto a sense of local identity. By contrast, he identified the neighbouring North East Combined Authority as being “too big.”
This “make it work” mentality has contributed to a regional story of significant economic growth – but has also, I suggested to Houchen, left him with fewer tools and levers to pursue his ends. You’ll have to watch the video to see how he responded to that!
Our next event will be with Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the new Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire – and I expect it will be just as interesting. Sign up by popping an email to events@re-state.co.uk