The next government must extend devolution to 85% of England to address an ‘incomplete patchwork of mismatched deals’, a think-tank has argued.
A report by the Institute for Government (IfG) includes 30 proposals that could be implemented over the next parliament.
The IfG said devolution to remaining large urban areas like Leicester and Southampton should be prioritised and called for a legal right for all parts of England to take on devolved powers.
The trailblazer offer should be extended to current metro mayors, while trailblazer deals in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands should expand to include strategic spatial planning, employment support, apprenticeships levy funding and research and development (R&D) budgets, the think-tank said.
The report also proposes trialling tax sharing with leading combined authorities, including by devolving a small share of national insurance revenue, which it says would incentivise local job creation.
Report author Thomas Pope said: ‘English cities outside of London are not fulfilling their economic potential, dragging down overall UK economic performance.
‘Devolving the right economic powers, like skills and transport, to combined authorities should help areas develop coherent economic strategies and grow faster in the long term.
‘Providing more powers, such as over employment support, R&D and planning to current mayors should be a high priority for any government that wants to improve national growth.’
