Councils want new PM to speed up Dorset devolution

Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland has called on the incoming new Prime Minister to speed up approving a devolution deal for the south west.

The combined bid for a Heart of Wessex authority and mayor, comprising Dorset, BCP, Somerset and Wiltshire Councils, was rejected by the Government in January 2025 for not being advanced or developed enough.

Councillor Ireland says he will be writing to Andy Burnham today (his first day as Prime Minister) pressing the case for the Wessex bid to be expedited.

When Dorset's bid for the Wessex authority was rejected, council leaders expressed their disappointment and anger at losing out financially.

So what does Nick Ireland, Liberal Democrat leader of Dorset Council want the new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham to do, I asked?

"I would like Andy Burnham to recognise that as a Wessex footprint, we are ready to go, we have been ready to go for a while, and we've been telling the ministers at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, so we'd like Andy just to sign it off, please," he said.

"I did meet Andy Burnham a few weeks ago in a restaurant in Manchester before his by-election win. I gave him a list of things to do when he became Prime Minister. I will be writing to him or emailing him on Monday. We are looking for him to come through on his words. He said a lot of words about devolving power, growth in local postcodes, so we are ready and we'd like him to give us the powers.

"He's going to be very busy, of course, but I think in devolution terms, we are ready to go and we're an easy win. We are unitary authorities. And so if he hears this message, if he watches the BBC, Andy, please?"

In August 2024, the then Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner asked councils to submit bids for combined regional authorities.

Each area that was approved would have an elected mayor and be in line for millions of pounds of investment, disseminated through a 'Council of the Regions'.

Cllr Millie Earl, leader of BCP Council, said:

"Devolution offers a major opportunity to bring more decisions closer to our residents and unlock the investment we need for growth, housing, transport, infrastructure, clean and resilient energy, skills and nature recovery.

"Our message to the new Prime Minister is clear - Wessex is ready, BCP is ready, and our partnership is prepared to work quickly with government to turn this opportunity into real benefits for our residents, businesses and communities."