Manchester and other leading UK cities should be given greater local powers to compete with those in Europe, claims Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
A report released today highlighted how all except one of the biggest English cities outside London lag behind the national average wealth per person.
These include Manchester along with other cities such as Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle and Mr Clegg believes ‘if ever there was a time to push for decentralisation, it’s now’.
“You only need look at how the Scottish Referendum debate has re-energised people’s interest and engagement in politics over the last few weeks to see that this is an idea whose time has come,” he said.
This is in stark contrast to other European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Sweden where ‘so-called second-tier cities have been at the forefront of economic growth, wielding clear regional policies and devolved economic powers to outperform their capital cities’.
The report, titled Decentralisation Decade and produced by the IPPR North think tank, welcomes steps towards greater devolution.
This would include the creation of a ‘Greater Manchester Combined Authority’ (GMCA) co-ordinating transport and economic development across the city, suggesting that more cities should follow a ‘Manchester model’.
The report also suggested that Manchester has benefitted from ‘strong local government’ and ‘stable, long term leadership’, with City Council Leader, Labour’s Sir Richard Leese, having been continuously in office since 1996.
Sir Richard, called for greater powers for the city and said: “The economy of Greater Manchester is bigger than a number of existing small countries within Europe.
“The idea that in Greater Manchester we should have less control over our own affairs than they have in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is becoming increasingly untenable and politically unacceptable.”
However, the IPPR also says that devolution of powers from Westminster has so far been ‘partial and piecemeal’ and calls for new powers to be transferred to ‘core cities’.
Suggestions include directly-elected ‘metro mayors’ for cities, and local authorities being given the power to set their own property taxes, business rates, and potentially even varying rates of income tax.
The report also suggests that local authorities, giving Manchester as an example, could be given responsibility and funding for all education and careers advice for 16-19 year-olds.
It also proposes that local ‘school commissioners’ be created with the power to commission new schools to meet local needs.
Philip Blond, a former adviser to David Cameron, now Director of the ResPublica think tank, has also called for the development of ‘21st century city states’, and is currently working with the GMCA on a report calling for greater integration of public services at a local level.
Amongst his suggestions will be that Manchester local authorities be given total control of welfare spending in the city, allowing funding to be better directed towards local training schemes to get people off benefits.
Like Nick Clegg, Sir Richard linked the issue to next week’s referendum on Scottish Independence.
“A programme of devolution for Scotland has been set out should the vote be a ‘No’,” he said.
“How much more compelling would that case be if it also included devolution to all our cities, on the same ambitious timescale?
“Our national agenda for devolution is simply not radical enough. We can’t have devolution in one part of the UK and none at all in another.”
Image courtesy of Chatham House, with thanks
