Cities call for greater devolution
REPRESENTATIVES from Manchester and Liverpool joined other city leaders in Glasgow yesterday to call for greater devolution.
They want cities to be given more powers, rather than regions, and argue this will help drive economic growth and job creation.
The Core Cities Cabinet, which includes the leaders of the eight largest English cities outside of London, will issue a joint declaration with Glasgow whose council leader is arguing for city devolution rather than Scottish independence.
Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese, who chairs the Core Cities Cabinet, said: “The core cities and Glasgow have a great deal in common and we share a proud history of industrial ingenuity. We are here in Glasgow today to talk about our shared future as drivers of the UK economy.
“Both the core cities and Glasgow are in favour of radical constitutional change but do not believe this should be left to be a tussle between parliaments. Instead greater freedoms to our nation’s cities should be granted, starting with the devolution of property taxes.
“There is also a desperate need to build better connectivity and by working together, for example to deliver HS2, we will make life better for people and businesses in every UK city. This should be our shared vision.”
Glasgow leader Gordon Matheson said: “The fact of the matter is that Glasgow has more in common with cities such as Liverpool and Manchester than we do with much of the rest of Scotland. I welcome this powerful intervention against separatism from my fellow city leaders. The issues they face from an over-dominant London economy and government centralism are the same that Glasgow faces.
“The answer is to radically devolve power and resources to city regions across Britain so we can grow our economies and make a bigger contribution to GDP; not to erect a border at Carlisle, create huge uncertainty over currency and regulatory frameworks, and turn people from Newcastle into foreigners.”
