It’s great to see the two major political parties fighting it out for the most localist title - both acknowledging that the English state has been far too centralised for far too long.
But Lord Adonis’ proposals raise a few questions for those who care to look beyond the headlines and into the detail.
Firstly, the proposed increase in the size of the single pot from the Government’s £20bn to Adonis’ £30bn is very welcome and it’s great to see skills included – this could be a big step forward.
That said, it is still some way short of Lord Heseltine’s original proposed numbers and those weren’t pie in the sky figures, but budgets that could work better if spent locally, identified by the most experienced former minister still involved in policy development.
