Havering Borough and Essex Devolution

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Rosindell]

The hon. Gentleman is completely right: any type of devolution has to have the consent of the people. I have to say to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I do not believe that the current Greater London devolution arrangement really has the consent of people in Havering. I think that if there were to be a referendum tomorrow, they would overwhelmingly vote to leave Greater London and be a unitary authority, but maybe there are other options. That is why this debate about Havering borough and Essex devolution is so pertinent today, and I look forward to the Minister’s response to my arguments.

To return to what I was saying about the police, all but one of our police stations have been closed, and my constituents are deeply unhappy with the lack of police cover we receive, despite the huge amount we contribute financially to the Greater London Authority. This is no fault of the dedicated officers who form the day-to-day, rank-and-file backbone of our local police operation. The local force is dedicated and determined to respond to and prevent instances of criminality that blight the locality, but they are undermined by a lack of the resources that we in Havering pay for, but simply do not receive. Indeed, if you speak to my constituents, they will tell you that they believe Havering residents are in effect subsidising inner London areas and, through the Greater London Authority, funding what I believe has become a London-wide bureaucracy in City Hall and associated London-wide quangos. It is hard to see how the people of Havering benefit from that, and more often than not, it has no relevance to local people in my borough whatsoever.

The reason for my Adjournment debate is to ask the Minister to please allow us to look at alternatives. Now is the time to consider Havering’s future. With devolution for what is termed Greater Essex now being implemented, this must surely be the right moment to examine a change that would give the people of Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham hope that we could be part of something that better suits our local needs and goes with the grain of our historical identity. If the Government truly believe in genuine devolution, I hope the Minister will agree that local people should determine what is best for them, and a borough such as Havering must surely have the freedom to consider all options for our future. I request that the Government open up a meaningful conversation with the people of Havering about devolution for Essex that could include Havering, so that we can look sensibly and in detail at ideas for change.

Let me make one thing crystal clear. The freedom travel pass for pensioners is often cited as one of the benefits of being part of Greater London, as if the Mayor of London provides it to us for free, which is not the case. My borough pays millions to buy in to this scheme. It has always done so and will always continue to do so. We pay millions of pounds for the privilege, but I will always defend and support the freedom pass as our older folk deserve the benefits it gives them.

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend on an excellent speech. Does he agree that boroughs such as mine—Bromley—face many of the frustrations that his constituents in Havering face, and that we are also contributing huge amounts of money to the Mayor of London?

[Andrew Rosindell]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend is completely right. The people of Romford feel the same as the people of Bromley, Ruislip and other parts of outer Greater London who are disenchanted with the current settlement.

On the freedom pass, I have long argued that the scheme should be extended to all council areas where Transport for London operates. Indeed, the Elizabeth line runs to Shenfield and the Central line runs to Epping. Other TfL services operate in local authority areas that go way beyond the supremely outdated boundaries of Greater London, to the west side of London in particular, so any travel schemes like the freedom pass must surely be offered equally to all the local authorities that TfL serves. The freedom pass for older people and others should not be used as a reason never to change the structure of local government in what I call the capital region of the UK, which now stretches far beyond the Greater London boundaries of the 1960s.

May I also make it clear that I do not agree with the creation of super-unitary authorities? I believe they will prove to be very remote from towns, villages and neighbourhoods and from real people who want local democracy to be truly local, with councillors who genuinely know their wards and understand the areas they represent. If the Government are, however, set on going down this path, as they are now doing in Essex, I believe it is inevitable that boroughs in Greater London will go in the same direction at some stage, with amalgamations of councils taking place. Already, there is much discussion about this prospect, with varying proposals being put forward and openly spoken of by think-tanks, among local government officials and in London elite circles, of course.

Let me say here and now that if Havering is destined for eventual merger with east London boroughs in some new super-council configuration, that is not something my constituents or I would support. We in Havering are a town and country borough, with an Essex heritage and a special character that local people cherish and will fight to retain.

So, based on the principle the Government are already pursuing with the creation of expanded unitary authorities, I ask the Minister to please consider Havering for collaboration with, for example, our neighbouring Essex local authorities such as Brentwood or Epping Forest, both of which are also served by Transport for London and have much in common with Romford and Havering.

It has been evident for a long time that Havering is at a crossroads, and it is now becoming abundantly clear to anyone who dares to look that either we continue on a path of future London integration or we take a new path in line with our heritage, which fully realises our Essex roots, culturally, economically, and politically. I, alongside the people of Havering, strongly argue that this second path is the one we should, and indeed must, walk.

It could just be, much to the surprise of many of my constituents, that the new Labour Government’s plan for devolution and local government reorganisation provides the opportunity we need to finally take control of our own affairs and have our future restored to becoming part of Essex local government structures once again. It would be a great plus for the people of Romford if it was a Labour Government that actually delivered what they have been asking for for so long.

This is what I have been fighting for over the course of my entire political life—not as a personal preoccupation, but because it is what everyone in my constituency believes, from local families and business owners to pensioners and market traders, and indeed young people. They all tell me that is what they want: they want their identity restored to being part of Essex and having our local control away from central London and City Hall. It is high time that their voices were listened to and this opportunity was seized to shape Havering and Essex for the better.

I believe that today we have a once-in-almost-a-century chance to look afresh at the old boundaries of Greater London that were constructed six decades ago. The entire region around our great United Kingdom capital of London has changed dramatically since those days, and we should therefore seize this moment to be bold and look at options for change that local people would be happy to see, thus giving my constituents in Romford, Hornchurch and across the Borough of Havering hope for a much better structure of local government, rightly determined and supported by the people it is established to serve.