In a grand speech setting out his vision for his flagship domestic policy, the prime minister said that powers like control of local bus traffic do not necessarily need to be given to subway mayors and that other forms of decentralization are possible.
He said that while Britain was one of the most unbalanced and centralized nations in the world, the creation of underground mayors in areas like the West Midlands reversed the trend and helped some areas recover after decades of decline.
Log In to our daily newsletter
The i-newsletter cut through the noise
Continue reading
Continue reading
Doncaster could improve the educational systems of Pittsburgh and Finland with the …Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) visits the UK Battery Industrialization Center in Coventry ahead of a speech where he will insist that his leveling agenda is “win-win” rather than a case of “robbing Peter to.” Paul to pay “. keeping traditional tories in the south on the side. Picture date: Thursday July 15, 2021. Picture: PA
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) visits the UK Battery Industrialization Center in Coventry ahead of a speech where he will insist that his leveling agenda is “win-win” rather than a case of “robbing Peter to.” Paul to pay “. keeping traditional tories in the south on the side. Picture date: Thursday July 15, 2021. Picture: PA
Mr Johnson described the local leadership as “the most important factor in leveling, the yeast that lifts the whole dough mattress, the magic sauce, the ketchup of catching up”.
But in a speech at the UK’s Battery Industrialization Center in Coventry, the Prime Minister said he wanted to continue the process initiated by former Chancellor George Osborne to empower local leaders, the rest of the country, those historic, famous cities, or our counties where local ones are Leaders now need to have the tools to accomplish things for their communities.
“To do this, in England we have to take a more flexible approach to decentralization, we have to rewrite the rulebook, with new agreements for the counties, and there is no reason our big counties cannot benefit from the same powers that we do have given us guides to the city.
“So that they can take care of the expansion of the local infrastructure, such as the bypass, they absolutely want to end congestion and pollution in order to create new jobs or new bus routes that are operated by clean, green buses that are named and connected to batteries pioneered this place because then they get the chance to control the bus routes.
“Or they can improve the skills of the people around them because they know what local businesses want and need, because they work with them every day.”
Mr Johnson also announced that 15 areas, including Todmorden in West Yorkshire and Stainforth in South Yorkshire, would receive money under the government’s £ 3.6 billion Towns Fund.
The speech comes amid concern that the government has weakened its interest in decentralization, with a White Paper on the issue delayed by months and now included in the Level Up White Paper this fall.
Agreements granting additional powers to mayors in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire have been agreed, but talks are just getting underway in North Yorkshire and Hull and East Riding.
However, he said that leaders with a vision of how their local area can attract more jobs and improve services should turn to community secretary Robert Jenrick or Neil O’Brien, the level advisor, “and we will give you that Tools at hand to make your region better “.
He said, “And it can be done. Because there is no intrinsic reason why any part of this country should be doomed or even successful.
“The cities that people say have been left behind have not lacked human ingenuity, they have not lacked people of courage, intelligence or imagination, and there is no place in this country that does not have something special. something about their landscape or culture or history or tradition, a selling point that is different from anything else or nowhere else in the world.
“And they don’t think they’re going to be left behind, and they’re right, they think they are the future, or could be the future. And they’re right about that, too. And all they need is the right people to come to.” Believing them, leading them and investing in them, and that the government is behind them. And we will. ”
Carl Les, Chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “The Prime Minister’s speech is extremely encouraging. We strongly believe that North Yorkshire has tremendous potential to be a rural powerhouse, catalyzing green economic growth and leading the way in climate change initiatives and opportunities.
“In order for this and all of our other aspirations to become a reality, we urgently need a strong decentralization agreement – something we have long advocated.
“We are ready to seize all the opportunities outlined in the Prime Minister’s speech, we just need the green light.”
But Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was less impressed. He said, “Much of the Prime Minister’s analysis today was correct, and I disagree in any way – far too often, people’s life chances and health are still determined by the zip code in which they were born.
“But what was missing were credible measures that would actually change the reality of life for the people here in northern England. You can’t move up by throwing money into the cities here and there and setting up a gum task force.
“You are doing this by helping urban areas like ours to create a London-style, London-tariff transportation network that unites cities and towns and transforms the life chances of the 2.8 million people who live here. I urge the government to give us the strength and resources we need and make leveling a reality here in the north. “
In a press conference challenging him on allegations that his previous statements gave the green light to online racism, the prime minister was asked what his clear strategy for leveling up was.
“I respectfully urge you to just go over some of what I said, because I think, in fairness, there was at least the skeleton of what to do,” replied Mr Johnson.
However, he said that an alignment strategy paper would be released later this year in which further details should be worked out.
In response to the speech, Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said, “Local leadership must be a rationale for leveling, and district agreements are a promising sign that the government intends to further decentralize more powers.
“However, places like Cumbria and North Yorkshire and York have worked hard to get rid of overly bureaucratic two-tier councils and instead created a lean structure of city councils and a directly elected Metro Mayor. On the North Bank of Humber and in Cheshire and Warrington, we need Metro Mayor deals to ensure greater accountability.
“The Prime Minister is right in recognizing the tremendous potential of a properly balanced economy, and now is the time to translate that into visible change.
“The Prime Minister said the government wanted to see local leaders emerge who would take ‘responsibility’ for local problems.
“We want local leaders to emerge, but of course those powers must come with responsibility and accountability,” he said.
“That is what we want to see that people take their local area in hand, lead it and look not only for ways to show differences between themselves and the central government, but actually to take responsibility for problems and they with ours Help to solve. “
And Erica Roscoe, Senior Research Fellow at IPPR North, said, “The evidence is clear – leveling up can only be achieved if the places are empowered to level themselves up.
“From better living standards to better work, health and better democracy, leaders across England are starting to show the difference decentralization can make, but the limits of their powers and competition for short-term funding initiatives mean they are not taking full advantage of their communities can potential.
“We need a fair, transparent regime where power is shared between places and governments – not piecemeal projects where the government continues to hold all the strings because that’s not real, progressive decentralization. The prime minister has to let go to rise. ”