Today’s English Devolution Bill White Paper sets out our vision to deliver the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England’s regions for a century and relight the fires of our regions.
This Labour Government’s English Devolution Bill will hand those with skin in the game the powers they need to deliver for their area – and on our ambitious Plan for Change missions.
This raft of new powers is part of our devolution revolution that will enable Mayors to raise living standards and deliver better services across England and the Labour Government’s Plan for Change.
Mayors will be hardwired into the fabric of government, leading the way on housebuilding, transport, skills and more.
We will:
- Hand mayors strong new powers of housing, planning, transport, energy, skills and employment support, backed up with the funding they need to deliver.
- End the destructive ‘Whitehall knows best’ mindset that micromanages the decision- making of our councils.
- Empower communities to shape the future of their areas, including through a strong new ‘right to buy’ to rescue beloved community assets.
These major changes will rebuild local government and make it more effective, saving money for the taxpayer that can be invested into public services and improving accountability with fewer politicians.
Amanda Martin MP said:
“Our area is currently without a mayor and I’m working closely with other local MPs, the city council and others to encourage them to take the key and unlock our own future – with devolution no longer a whim of Westminster but instead hardwired into the way we work”.
“The last Tory Government left too many levers for growth in the hands of central Government and their inconsistent, patchwork approach meant there were too many institutions with different powers and governance arrangements”.
“In our manifesto, we committed to transferring power out of Westminster by giving local leaders the tools to kickstart their economies, as well as empowering communities to transform their neighbourhoods, high streets and important community assets. That is exactly what we are doing.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
“Devolution is about delivering fundamental change at every level. It’s about giving local leaders the tools – and the trust – they need to forge their areas’ futures”.
“It’s about raising living standards, improving public services and building the homes we so desperately need – all key aspects of our Plan for Change. It cuts across every aspect of government”.
“We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power. So our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation, empowering those communities to realise their potential. And nobody is more excited about it than I am.”
Key to this transformation will be the government’s ambition for all of England to have Strategic Authorities – larger than individual councils and covering the wider areas people recognise and work in.
Many places already have the Combined Authorities that will serve this role. Elsewhere, the government will work at pace with areas that want to create new Authorities, and will also legislate to allow for the creation of Strategic Authorities where local leaders have, after due time has been allowed, not been able to make progress.
Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said:
“At its core, this White Paper sets out how the Government will strengthen and widen the mayoral model of devolution across England. It will shift power, decision making and money away from Westminster as part of a completely new way of governing, equipping more mayors with a stronger set of levers to drive growth in their communities”.
“It will empower them through integrated funding settlements, a direct role in the rail network, greater control over strategic planning and housing funding and skills training, so that they can deliver tangible change on a local and regional level”.
“To do this we will rebuild and reform local government as the foundation for devolution, a reset in the relationship between central and local government, and give communities stronger tools to shape the future of their local areas.”
The White Paper lays out the government’s plans to rebuild local government after 14 years of mismanagement and decline. This means providing multi-year financial settlements, shifting to a fairer system which matches funding with need, and a proper partnership between central and local government.
Key Stats
- England is one of the most centralised countries in the developed world.
- The Institute for Government found that local government accounts for little over 20% of total spending in the UK, compared with around 40% or more in Germany, Belgium and other countries.
- England also has some of the highest levels of geographic inequality in disposable income and productivity, higher than between West Germany and the former communist East Germany.
- London and the South East attract 72% of new R&D-intensive jobs, and 45% of all private investment. We must stop leaving half the country out of our economy, and we must stop flying on only one wing
- If English cities outside of the capital met their potential compared to similar cities in other countries, the national economy could be £34bn-£55bn larger per year.
- By a majority of two to one, millions today think that their local economies are held back by Westminster
