Andrew Griffith MP, the Member of Parliament for Arundel & South Downs, has condemned today’s decision by the Labour government to cancel elections and force the scrapping of West Sussex local councils as an absolute travesty against democracy and local people’s wishes.
The decision, taken today [5 February] by Labour’s Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, means that the planned May elections will no longer go ahead. Instead, West Sussex residents will have to go to the polls in 2026 to elect a new Sussex wide Mayor.
In the House of Commons, Rayner said “[These changes] are for the whole of England”, but did not set out any detail on how devolved authorities will operate when comprised of mostly rural areas with large conurbations.
The Arundel and South Downs MP has previously represented the views of residents saying that “Sussex needs a mayor like a fish needs a bicycle”. He also stated that “This is the answer to a question no one except central government asked.”
The local MP has previously put on record that he does not support the Labour Government’s plan to force the devolution on all local administrations including here in West Sussex. He feels strongly that top-down imposed reforms – just like housing numbers - are completely wrong and lack democratic consent.
Currently, West Sussex has locally elected representatives of each community making the town halls accountable and accessible.
Instead, next year West Sussex’s administration will merge with East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council to form a single tier of government. A new elected Sussex mayor will have to represent 1.5 million residents living in wildly different communities dominated by urban Brighton, Crawley and they will then serve under the Sussex banner.
Mr Griffith has said that his concern is that local government would become more remote from the community it serves.
Similar mayoral regions already exist in Birmingham and Greater Manchester, which are by contrast formed of urban conurbations. This is a stark contrast to West Sussex and East Sussex which are primarily rural with a vast amount covered by the South Downs National Park. It is unclear at this stage how the park’s Authority will fit into the new model.
As a result of today’s decision, local elections in West Sussex this year will also be delayed.
Andrew Griffith MP said:
“This is an outrageous decision which has been forced on all local councils by the government through its English Devolution White Paper. This was a forced choice not a free choice. Had this been a bottom up set of requests for re-organisation which started with local people that would be one thing. Instead we have a top down, ‘made by Angela’ Whitehall designed model of reorganisation.
“It will starve many residents in rural West Sussex of the representation at local government which they deserve, and ultimately lead to a focus on the urban areas of the county such as Brighton and Crawley – whilst stealing the voices of residents at the ballot box this May. This decision is democratic larceny.
“With Sussex now confirmed to go ahead, it is everyone’s responsibility, including West Sussex County Councillors to work together to shape it for the good of local people and local services and responsibilities.”
