OXFORDSHIRE County Council is to enter into an “alliance” with two other county authorities, it has been announced.

At a press conference this morning in Silverstone, county council leader Ian Hudspeth joined his opposites in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire – Martin Tett and Jim Harker OBE – to confirm the arrangement.

The three councils said they have joined forces to call on the Government for new powers to be devolved to them, as a way of boosting their income.

As reported in the Oxford Mail in November, Mr Hudspeth has said he would like local control of business rates, some national taxes and for longer-term cash settlements from the Government.

That request was met with a frosty response from Minister for Local Government Kris Hopkins.

But now Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire are hoping to bolster a bid for more powers by combining their efforts.

They said they wanted to put forward joint plans in areas including roads, public transport, employment and skills funding and large projects, such as the East West Rail connection.

Mr Hudspeth said: “We are expecting more than 80,000 new jobs to be created in Oxfordshire in 2031.

“This will be a major boost to our local economy, but the economic benefits are not confined to local authority borders so it is vitally important that we work together with our neighbours.”

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