Local Elections Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Will Forster
Main Page: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)Department Debates - View all Will Forster's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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Miatta Fahnbulleh
Of course, candidates have been selected, and I am very happy to apologise to them. I hope that, on the other side of this, whoever is mayor will have the knowledge that they have a strong unitary, and a strong strategic authority working in their interests. If this means that we will have a more powerful mayor who is delivering for their place, as a result of that strong partnership, then it is absolutely worth it. We have to put the people who the mayor is there to serve first.
We are committed to the investment. The full investment fund will come into place once the mayor is elected, but because we are keen for strategic authorities to crack on, we are bringing forward some of that investment. We will work with the areas, so that they can begin delivering for their people.
Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
Last month, the Secretary of State clearly said to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that elections, both local and mayoral, will go ahead. He did not equivocate. He did not say that there were ifs or buts; these elections were going ahead. Can the Minister confirm why the Secretary of State appeared to mislead MPs, and what steps will she take to ensure—
Mr Forster
Inadvertently mislead. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that MPs can trust and believe what her Department says in future communications?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
To be very clear, the Secretary of State was talking about council elections; I urge the hon. Member to look at the transcript. I keep trying to make the distinction between council elections and the inaugural mayoral elections, provisions on which do not come into force until we have laid the SI before Parliament and we have the consent of constituent authorities. There is a distinction. We are determined to move ahead with local elections, but it is right that we have made a judgment on mayoral elections.