Core Cities group joins clamour for devolved power

THE Core Cities group, which includes Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool Leeds and Sheffield, is launching a a national campaign demanding more power over how they spend their money.
 
The Local Voices campaign is part of a strategic push by the eight largest English cities to drive the regional devolution agenda. The campaign is being launched at a Parliamentary reception with Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

The call comes only days after Think Birmingham, part of the national Think Cities campaign from Centre for Cities, called for greater powers and extra funding for the city ahead of next year’s General Election.

The Core Cities group campaign features people from each of the eight cities whose work has benefited, and would benefit further, by greater devolution of power.

The Core Cities argue that greater freedom to decide how to spend the money generated in cities, such as property taxes, would help them boost their local economies by targeting resources according to specific local needs.
 
Independent forecasts demonstrate this could mean an additional £222bn and 1.3m jobs for the country by 2030.
 
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council and chair of the Core Cities Cabinet, said: “The national economy needs our cities to succeed like never before in delivering jobs and growth, and reducing dependency on public services.

“To do so means going further and faster in devolving resources from the centre.”