West of England Combined Authority Accused of Losing Millions Amid Internal Disputes

Senior former officials from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) have cautioned that the region is forfeiting millions of pounds in government funding. WECA was placed under special measures in March and is currently under government oversight. This action followed an auditors’ report that highlighted a “sense of division,” along with “delay and misunderstanding.” Labour mayor Dan Norris leads WECA, which encompasses Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The authority is responsible for regional transport, housing, and adult skills, but has experienced disagreements with the leaders of these constituent councils. Mr. Norris informed the BBC, stating: “Two thirds of a billion pounds has come to our region under me.” In 2022, Mr. Norris publicly accused Toby Savage, who was then the Conservative leader of South Gloucestershire Council, of “living in a parallel universe” and possessing “delusions of grandeur.” On Thursday, Mr. Savage characterized WECA meetings as “bruising.” He stated: “We have seen with this metro mayor that wanting to play politics and politic has been a big feature of his tenure.” Mr. Savage, who no longer serves as a councillor, now provides consultancy to other local authorities on matters of good governance. Furthermore, internal discord has been present, marked by the departure and arrival of numerous senior officers. Following an incident where the mayor’s image was painted on the side of a bus, the chief executive at the time authored a highly critical report, cautioning that it constituted “unlawful self-promotion.” This chief executive has since departed from the authority. Some observers are cautioning that this level of division and disagreement has been detrimental to the West of England. Liberal Democrat Winston Duguid, who chaired WECA’s Scrutiny Committee for three years, commented: “I’ve seen some conflict, but I haven’t seen conflict like this before.” He added: “There’s a real danger that we’re losing out on some opportunities.” Conservative Geoff Gollop, who presided over WECA’s audit committee until May, voiced comparable worries. He stated: “We were being incredibly dysfunctional. That’s bound to have played a part in considering whether money might come here for projects – or go to other parts of the country.” Mr. Gollop further remarked: “We’ll never know how much we might have missed out, but it is very much the fact that the amount of funding that flowed on future deals was not as significant as happened to some of the other combined authorities.” Dan Norris is scheduled to resign from his position next May, having been elected to Parliament to represent North East Somerset and Hanham. He had contemplated holding both roles concurrently, but the Labour party precluded this. Helen Godwin, a former Bristol City Council councillor, has been chosen as Labour’s candidate for the upcoming West of England mayoral election next year. Concurrently, former lord mayor Steve Smith has been named the Conservative candidate, and Heather Mack, the council’s deputy leader, has been chosen as the Green Party candidate.