Giving city leaders new powers – including the ability to raise their own taxes – could boost the UK economy by £100bn a year, former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane has claimed.
A joint report by the RSA and Core Cities, authored by Mr Haldane and Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, suggests a rethink of Government fiscal rules to change the focus from debt reduction to creating wealth.
City leaders should be given statutory responsibilities for raising prosperity, the report claims, and the current bidding culture for funding pots should be scrapped.
It calls on local leaders to be empowered to work with central government to harness £1trn needed to boost wealth.
The report, based on the findings of the UK Urban Future Commission, claims a city renaissance could bring a quarter of a million people out of unemployment, 1.2 million out of poverty and increase healthy life expectancy by up to eight years.
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