Angela Rayner Promises to Give Local Areas More Power

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner visits fathers at Broxburn Family and Community development centre in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, on June 15, 2024. (Andy Buchanan/PA Wire)

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner promised on Tuesday to send more powers from Westminster to local areas, as part of a “devolution revolution.”

The new Labour government says its doors are open to areas which want to get in touch and try and take on devolution for the first time.

The deputy Labour leader, who is also secretary of state for housing, communities, and local government, has written to council leaders, who are not currently subject to a devolution deal, to urge them to “partner with this government.”

Ms. Rayner’s announcement comes ahead of Wednesday’s King’s Speech, which is expected to see mayors and councils handed more control over skills, energy, planning, and transport.

In her missive to local leaders, she wrote: “For too long, Westminster has hoarded power and held back towns, cities, and villages across the country from achieving their true potential.

“Last week, the Prime Minister and I had the pleasure of meeting England’s metro Mayors, a signal of intent about our desire to bring local leaders into the heart of our government. We discussed how to deliver sustained economic growth through better housing, more tailored skills, and decent, well-paid jobs, through both national and local levers.

“I have seen first-hand the benefits of devolution, from better integrated transport and publicly controlled buses to new skills programmes and good, affordable housing projects.”

Voters in some English metropolitan areas, such as London, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands, elect mayors with regional responsibilities for transport, housing, and in some cases policing.

The government’s announcement of further devolution came just hours before Labour’s Vaughan Gething resigned as first minister of Wales after four members of his devolved government quit in protest over his leadership.

Mr. Gething, who spent just 118 days in the post, has been embroiled in a series of scandals which he denies.

When Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Ms. Rayner held a meeting with regional mayors last week, Sir Keir expressed a desire to build “a real partnership” with them.

During the meeting he told the mayors: “I know many of you already have growth plans in place—some of you have shared them and that is fantastic. What we want to do is build on that with a real partnership where you feel that the government is up alongside you, supporting what you’re doing.”

The prime minister added: “I think it’s the first meeting like this in Downing Street.

“I don’t think all the metro mayors have come together in Downing Street like this, so this is a first and that’s good.”

Following Manchester’s Example

The meeting was attended in person by 11 mayors from across England, however Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard was absent owing to illness.

Among them were the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, West Midlands Metro Mayor Richard Parker, Mayor of the West of England Dan Norris, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin, and the sole Tory among them, Tees Valley Mayor Lord Ben Houchen.

Labour has pointed to Greater Manchester, which has had devolved powers since 2014, as an example of a region succeeding as a result of devolution.

The party said that the city, currently run by Labour’s Andy Burnham, is “one of the places where devolution has existed for the longest and powers are deepest, has been one of the UK’s fastest growing areas over the last 20 years and is forecast to grow by more than the national average in coming years.

“This has been driven by powers allowing the Greater Manchester Mayor to encourage investment into the city, boost skills, and work towards an integrated transport system.”

PA Media contributed to this report.