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Devolution: A new Mayoral authority for Hampshire and the Solent

Blog by Rebecca Kinge, Director of Southampton Collective and Co-Chair of Southampton Climate Action Network

Devolution is on the cards in Hampshire and Solent. Have your say here by 13 April: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/lggc/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution-consultation/

Following Tuesday’s event about devolution hosted by RSA Southampton, here are some questions that, in my view, need some careful focus:

How will the Mayor ensure that the vision belongs to the people of the area, “doing with”, not “doing to”? In the posturing for power that is inevitably happening, the voices of those most impacted must be included meaningfully. How will they make sure the loudest voices do not dominate at the expense of true representation?
How do we ensure that climate, nature, together with the investment and skills that are needed to address these issues, are embedded in the vision and plans? A statutory duty around climate and nature is critical to achieving this along with ringfenced funding. The authority will need to recruit elected representatives and a Mayor who understands the importance of ecosystems, infrastructure resilience, evidence-based approaches and proven technologies, and will generally ensure that climate and nature are integral to all decision-making.
How do we move beyond outdated notions of growth based on GDP alone, towards broader measures that include prosperity for all, improving the lives of people in poverty and disadvantage while also strengthening the ecosystems that sustain life? Without care for our environment there can be no secure future. This is why we advocate for approaches based on Doughnut Economics and Community Wealth building. See our film Local is the New Global and our Southampton Sustainability Directory which points people to places where they can make sustainable choices with their spending.

A fuller response on devolution is included in the joint Transition Southampton / Southampton Climate Action Network response: Hampshire and the Solent devolution consultation: (draft) response by Southampton Climate Action Network and Transition Southampton – deadline 13 April

Coming together

On a Tuesday in April 2025, over 50 people came together in Southampton to talk about devolution and a future Mayoral Authority for Hampshire and the Solent area. The panel was made up of Lorna Fielker from Southampton City Council, Rob Kurn from Southampton Voluntary Services, Debbie Tann from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Ross McNally from Hampshire Chamber of Commerce along with Mark Lloyd who is the Head of Policy at RSA.

As advocated by Ross McNally, the real potential value of devolution will be the coming together, with a shared vision that can be implemented in a strategic way. Could anybody disagree? It is the how that is done that will bring the challenges. The idea of a “Council of All the Voices” was suggested, to bring together the politicians, businesses, community organisations and trade unions. Increasingly, these types of forums are including the voice of nature, so we don’t lose sight of the ecosystems that sustain life.

As Lorna Fielker said we all need to be lobbying to make sure that we are influencing the priorities of this new authority and its Mayor. This is harder said than done when consultation and community involvement budgets have been cut to the bone. It has to go beyond the odd survey, and create a sense that people can get involved in creating the vision, with decisions being made in a fair and transparent way. This is an area where Southampton Collective has been working hard to explore and develop techniques in the Southampton area, including through Southampton Coproduction Corner, a local community practice around better working together coordinated by Southampton Voluntary Services

From growth to prosperity

There’s a lot of talk in Southampton and across Government about the drive for growth. Whilst sustainable development has been on the table for decades now, this has not stopped us getting into both climate and nature crises, which threaten life and livelihoods. Debbie Tann reminded us of the commonly expressed false narrative that nature is a barrier to economic success, when in reality natural capital underpins a successful economy, enhances social connections and fosters health and wellbeing.

Debbie Tann also asked the fundamental question about what we mean by growth, which so frequently is measured in GDP. This led to a discussion about other ways of talking about and measuring prosperity such as focusing on happiness indices. To me this is a priority, because some of the narrative around growth remains focused on generating wealth regardless of whether it actually improves people’s lives. GDP based growth also treats the environment as an externality, grossly underestimating its value and benefits along with the risks and costs of damaging it. Doughnut Economics and Community Wealth Building can help us with this. Southampton Climate Action Network will be further focusing on this over the next year and beyond, and anyone can join us in the journey.

A duty to climate and nature

Southampton Climate Action Network, and others involved in climate and nature in the Hampshire area, are advocating for a statutory duty around climate and nature. It is critical that the new authority recruits elected representatives and a Mayor who understands the importance of ecosystems, infrastructure resilience, evidence-based approaches, proven technologies and economic decision making based on sustainability. They will need to make sure that climate and nature is integral to all decision-making.

The conversation touched on the “othering” of environmentalists, when so often those who are passionate about evidence-based sustainable approaches to development and living are ignored, and their only course of action is to protest. We need to move from protest to policy. As Southampton Climate Action Network, we are a broad organisation that involves community groups, and local businesses alongside activists and residents. We focus on evidence-based action and foster collaboration, and this is embedded in our Guiding Principles.

Social connections and social mobility

Mark Lloyd talked about the importance of the Mayoral Authority addressing social connections which is a strong predictor of social mobility. This is where the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector plays a crucial role, because they can offer a bridge between real people in communities and decision-makers. However, VCSE organisations are so busy delivering essential services to people and responding to the harsh cuts that have faced public services, that they have little or no capacity to get involved in lobbying, policy development or visioning exercises. How can they be empowered to speak up and be heard as part of a Mayoral authority?

Mark also emphasised the importance of looking at the deeper barriers to accessing employment opportunities and devolving more power to local service providers, creating a big opportunity from devolution. This will be game changing if the new authority, is able to achieve it. It can only happen in partnership with the communities, businesses and organisations that it serves.

Jobs and skills

There’s a lot of talk about making sure there are jobs in cities like Southampton for local people, addressing the current over-reliance on people coming from other areas to fill our skills gaps. The conversation on Tuesday included the importance of breaking down the urban/rural divide. More jobs and skills are needed to implement nature-based solutions, so we need to focus on upskilling young people to follow career paths in landscapes and open spaces, farming, the circular economy, sustainable technologies and community wealth building more widely.

Next steps

It is encouraging to think of how things could improve for the better, if we all work positively together and keep evidence-based and community-focused approaches at the centre of Mayoral authority decision-making.

If you would like to get involved with Southampton Collective or Southampton Climate Action Network, please get in touch.

Rebecca Kinge

www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccakinge/

10 April 2025

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