At Business Questions earlier today, Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford, in light of the Government's intention to establish a Mayoral Combined County Authority across Essex, urged the Leader of the House of Commons to allow time for a debate for Havering to be consulted in this process.
A vast majority of local people in Romford, Hornchurch, and Upminster, identify with the historic county of Essex, and have now, for decades, been subsidising inner-London without the services that we have been promised in return.
It must be noted that services offered by TfL go beyond the boundary of 'Greater London', but rather extend from Reading to Shenfield and Luton to Gatwick.
The question and answer were as follows:
In the 1960s, my constituency of Romford, which is part of the London borough of Havering, formed part of Greater London, but we are in Essex. The Government are following through with a devolution plan for the county of Essex. Will the Leader of the House please allow Havering to be considered as part of that discussion? People are deeply unhappy with the control from inner London. We feel much closer connections to Essex, and provided that there can be some guarantees about Transport for London, policing and things of that sort, it makes absolute sense for us to be part of that discussion. Will she arrange a debate on the Floor of the House, and perhaps a meeting with me and the Minister responsible, to try to find a solution to this issue and make my constituents very happy?
Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford
I hear the hon. Gentleman’s strong representation for his constituency to be part of Essex, although I think he said that he would still like the benefits of being part of the Greater London area. We are embarking on the biggest devolution of powers that has happened under any Government, and part of that is about redrawing the map for local communities. His community should absolutely continue to make representations through him. I will certainly ensure that the Minister for Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon), has a discussion with him about the possibility of Havering joining Essex.
The Rt Hon. Lucy Powell M.P., Leader of the House of Commons
