A new campaign, One Thames Valley, launches today calling for a single elected mayor for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon: the most economically powerful region of Britain outside London.
Official figures show the region leads the country outside London on the measures that matter:
- It produces £56,000 per person, more than any region of Britain outside London.
- Output per hour is 21% above the UK average, higher than any region of England outside London.
- Its £112bn economy is bigger than Wales.
- Swindon produces more per job than anywhere in Britain outside London.
- One in five of England's scientific research jobs outside London are here.
From Oxford, the world's top-ranked university, to the national labs at Harwell and Culham, the global headquarters around Reading, Slough's data-centre hub beside Heathrow, and Swindon's advanced manufacturing, the region works as one economy. One Thames Valley argues it should have one mayor to match.
"This is the most powerful economy outside London, and it already works as one. One mayor would give it one plan and one voice: for transport, for homes where the jobs are, and for the industries of the future."
A spokesperson for One Thames Valley
The campaign is calling on residents, businesses and elected representatives to back one mayor for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon by 2028.
Notes to editors
Output per person and size: ONS regional GDP, 2024, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon (analysis of ONS data; £112.5bn and £56,259 per person, with Swindon's 2024 figure estimated while ONS republishes it; Wales £100.3bn). Output per hour: ONS subregional productivity, 2023, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, hours-weighted (analysis of ONS data). Swindon: ONS subregional productivity, 2023, output per filled job. Research jobs: ONS Business Register and Employment Survey, 2024.
One Thames Valley is an initiative of Wheelcroft Media Limited. Maps and logos are available at the campaign website and are free to reproduce with credit.
Press enquiries: [campaign email]