Chancellor George Osborne is expected to offer cities more power over housing, planning and transport today, if they agree to be governed by a directly elected mayor.
In his first speech since the election, Mr Osborne has been tipped to unveil the Cities Devolution Bill, promising cities more control and freedoms in exchange for introducing directed elected mayors.
He will say: ‘The old model of trying to run everything in our country from the centre of London is broken. It’s led to an unbalanced economy. It’s made people feel remote from the decisions that affect their lives. It’s not good for our prosperity or our democracy.’
Mr Osborne will urge cities to follow the example of Manchester, which will gain control over local services after ten councils agreed to elect a mayor in 2017.
However, Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, warned the devolution deal should also be available to counties, districts and smaller cities as well.
He said: ‘A ‘fast stream’ approach to devolution risks sucking resources from neighbouring areas and talent from neighbouring councils. To ensure the benefits of devolution can be felt across the country, the chancellor’s challenge now is to ensure he does not stick to too rigid a template.
‘Wider devolution cannot work along a prescriptive combined authority and elected mayor model. Real devolution means letting places decide on the structures that work for them. This also requires less resource to negotiate from centre and means you can go further quicker.’
