Jay Singh-Sohal

Originally published on Conservative Home

Labour’s proposed devolution plans for England has caused much concern, with some local council elections planned for this year now delayed. Whilst there is criticism of the move to more strategic authority models across more of the country, in the West Midlands where we already have one, there is much improvement that can be achieved through the plan.  Conservatives need to get ready quickly for the forthcoming change by selecting a new Mayoral candidate this year.

Compared to other large regions such as Greater London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, the West Midlands is anomalous in the current separation of policing powers from the Mayoralty. This puts us below par in both leveraging the widest array of policy levers possible to tackle social deprivation, which often leads to criminality; or being a central focal point when competing for resources from government to meet the challenges of a diverse region of three million residents. 

That is why I ran for PCC in 2021, to work with then Mayor, Andy Street, on a unified approach to tackle the criminal issues impacting greater economic growth. I fought with a plan to “Get Crime Down”, based on my background of designing and enacting effective behaviour change programmes within the defence and security sector.  I came second with a quarter of a million regional votes.  Recognising the need for change, I then led the charge, making the argument for merger, advising decision-makers about its need and implementation.

What the Labour government now seems to be proposing is more radical than the merger proposed in the Conservative Levelling Up White Paper in 2023/4. The roles were scheduled to merge until the incumbent Labour PCC, Simon Foster, led a publicly funded fight back taking the Home Office to the High Court to save his £100k job. Foster won his case (although there was no time for an appeal before that May’s local elections) but has since faced off with his own party who now plan to revisit bringing the two offices together.

This is a welcome move, a merger that will finally see an empowered West Midlands Mayoral office with the combined abilities to tackle the causes of crime head-on. Giving the West Midlands Mayor policing responsibility will ensure those most adversely affected by crime can be engaged and addressed through socio-economic powers either within the Mayor’s current remit or likely through further devolution. This includes non-apprenticeship adults skills funding and local growth plans, and the education and training of 16–19-year-olds, the types of support mechanisms that can keep young and vulnerable people positively engaged within our society and away from crime. Pulling on such wider levers of decision-making, funding, and support, for a joined-up approach towards tackling criminality can work, be it to penalise criminals, protect victims, or “upstream” to address issues such as poverty or lack of jobs, that lead to criminal behaviours.

I know full well how this can make a difference.  I was raised in inner-city Birmingham, in Handsworth and Lozells during the 1980’s and a time of race riots. My father was (and still is) a local social worker, so I heard first hand and saw for myself how young people were led towards crime because of the lack of jobs, opportunities or indeed civic engagement.  

Today, we hear a lot about upstream activity to tackle crime particularly violence but see little in actual delivery of change. Rather, the crime situation has worsened whilst trust in the Police Commissioner has continued to collapse.  

Firstly, the crime figures speak for themselves.  In 2012, when the PCC role was introduced, total annual recorded crime from January to December stood at 171,732 in the West Midlands.  The most significant issue was theft with just over 42,000 incidents recorded. Violence against the person stood at just over 28,000 incidents that year.  Fast forward to 2024, and total recorded crime for the year has increased by 82 per cent, that’s 341,019 more incidents than twelve years ago.

Whilst theft has continued to rise and is now at its highest rate recorded in the region, up by 36 per cent or more than 15,000 additional incidents; what was once the most concerning crime category in the West Midlands is now dwarfed by the horrific rise in violence. Knife and gun crime incidents are now significantly more prevalent, violence has increased by 331 per cent with an additional 94,673 more incidents in 2024 than twelve years ago.

This rise cannot be blamed on funding, West Midlands Police receives around £650m a year. It can be blamed squarely on policies and policing leadership.  The West Midlands Labour PCC has failed to enact tough measures to tackle violence in particular. For instance, in response to rising weapons possession (including knives) his office introduced more knife amnesty bins – and in crime hot spots, bleed control kits to save lives. The psychological impact for young people of seeing such a focus on incidents in their areas is that more of them now carry a weapon to protect themselves.

Secondly, the PCC has become far too political in representing the interests of his core voter base in Birmingham rather than the region as a whole. This resulted in a breakdown in trust on policing matters because he has failed to listen and deliver on his pledges. Promises to stop police station closures have only been delivered in Labour-held areas. While in my hometown of Sutton Coldfield, the PCC has pushed closure and sale of our police station without public consultation. Our local MP Andrew Mitchell and councillors for the Royal Town have been ignored over their concerns. In a recent local survey about the matter, 92 per centof residents called on the PCC to engage local residents with a public consultation about the controversial move. The same number also wanted the PCC to outline why he did not attend a meeting of the local Town Council to take questions from concerned residents about the closure plan.

What good is a region’s Police Commissioner if they do not engage with local people?!  The role was designed to be a conduit between the police and local communities, after much contention about lack of accountability in policing, a means for concerned residents to have their say and for the Commissioner to hold the Chief Inspector of their force to account.  

Crime high, trust low – that is why I have long believed an empowered West Midlands Mayor could do a better job. It would enhance local democracy and accountability through a higher profile and recognisable figure.  And it would synergise with the other types of powers the government are proposing to also devolve to the region, not just economic but also services such as Fire.

Having said that, Labour will also inevitably introduce a Mayoral precept for the first time in the West Midlands. I do not support this as taxpayers are already forking out more in local tax because of Labour’s failures, particularly in bankrupt Birmingham where council tax is set to rise by 7.5 per cent whilst the authority also seeks cuts of £153m to balance its budget. But if a new regional tax is to be brought in, it would make sense to align it with the local police precept under the responsibility of the Mayor. Then let Labour own the budget for both and be held to account at the ballot box for their failure to deliver efficient and effective services at the regional level, as their incompetence will inevitably mirror what they have done in Birmingham.

That is why we Conservatives need to get ready and quick for this forthcoming change. To hold Labour to account through strong regional leadership but also to prepare the ground to win a bigger prize, of an enhanced Mayoral office, when the regional election returns in 2028. To do so the party must select a regional candidate soon, so the next three years can be spent on reinvigorating our Conservatism locally and building a solid base to represent the interests of the region as a whole.