My conversation with Claire Ward
Policy Director
Reform was delighted to host Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, as part of our first 'Meeting with Mayors' series.
Below, Policy Director Simon Kaye reflects on what he learned from the event.
Today, we launched our new Meetings with Mayors series with Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands. Our aim with this series is to have a different sort of conversation with a very different kind of English politician: directly elected, with a personal mandate from the public that they serve.
My wide-ranging conversation with Ward set the tone for what we hope will be a vital, ongoing conversation about devolution, governance, and the evolving role of directly elected mayors in England. As an MP of 13 years, a leader in multiple organisations, and a former government minister, Ward knows exactly how different her current job is.
What stood out?
First, the diversity of the mayoral role itself.
Claire Ward holds the same job title as Andy Burnham or Richard Parker, but in practice, her role is distinct. The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) is an entirely new kind of institution, facing unique challenges and opportunities as it tries to represent and offer strategic functionality for what we’ve been calling a polycentric region, which has very different needs to those with a clear metropolitan core.
Ward made clear her perspective that her job is not about replicating the function of the big urban combined authorities but about forging a model of devolution that works for a region of towns, small cities, and rural communities. Unlike the metro mayors, she doesn’t have a single dominant urban centre as a gravitational pull. Instead, she must work across a patchwork of different local economies, transport networks, and governance structures.
Second stand out was Claire Ward’s big ambitions.
Despite EMCCA being in its infancy, she is determined that it will not lag behind more established combined authorities. She made the case for joining the fast track for an integrated funding settlement, arguing that new institutions should not be held to artificial timelines simply because they are new. She also highlighted the challenge of making devolution real for people: how to move beyond the structural mechanics and demonstrate its tangible benefits for communities. To do this, she want greater powers and more autonomy.
Third stand out? That Claire Ward isn’t really fussed about nailing scale or getting to a Goldilocks ‘just right’ geography for her region.
As a new mayor, Ward has to focus on what is immediately deliverable while also setting the groundwork for future powers. That means she has little time to join with the debate in the devolution policy world about, for example, whether Leicestershire and Leicester itself should really be part of the East Midlands for it to make sense as a region.
Her approach, emphasising collaboration, leveraging the available soft power, and securing early wins within the system as it stands, makes sense for a newly established authority still proving its value.
Finally, this event reinforced just how dynamic and fast-moving England’s devolution landscape has become. With more combined authorities and mayors on the horizon, we need to think seriously about what structures and safeguards are required to ensure success. How can mayors best achieve their goals and deliver on their mandates? Do combined authorities have the financial and policy capabilities to realise their ambitions? And, as these roles evolve, what should come next? We address some of these questions in a brand new report – Metromentum – which will be launching tomorrow.
We’ll also be exploring these questions further in future Meetings with Mayors discussions. Next up, we’ll be speaking with Richard Parker (West Midlands) and Oliver Coppard (South Yorkshire). If this first event was anything to go by, there will be a huge amount to learn!