West Yorkshire Budget devolution deal expected – but won’t match Manchester windfall

LEEDS could finally get its devolution deal this lunchtime when Chancellor George Osborne delivers his final Budget before the general election.

A deal that would devolve aspects of transport, skills and housing is expected imminently, with just a handful of working days left before the election campaign commences.

Speaking yesterday, Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan said: “I’m very keen we get that devolution announcement this side of the general election, and I’m increasingly confident that will happen, hopefully tomorrow.”

However the Stage 1 deal will fall a long way short of Manchester’s devolution deal, with West Yorkshire’s refusal to adopt a metro mayor model continuing to be a sticking point. 

But Mr Riordan continued to rule out the mayoral model that Manchester has adopted, which was voted against two years ago by the public (with 63% voting ‘no’), despite attempts by the Chancellor to push a Boris Johnson-style mayoral leadership on the area in return for greater devolved powers. 

In his talk at the launch of the Association of Consultancy and Engineering, Mr Riordan appealed to the North to collaborate, saying that too often cities are pitted against each other.

“Places like Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bradford, Manchester and Leeds are having to change and adapt their economies and they’re doing it increasingly well. Even out of the cities, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, the Lake District are proving that the North has a lot to offer.” Mr Riordan said.

“What we need to do is bring that all together, and get some much-needed infrastructure investment into this part of the world. That’s what the Northern Powerhouse idea is about, infrastructure and connectivity.

On London, Mr Riordan said: “When you have your administrative, cultural, political and communications centre all in the same place, which few countries in the world do, that brings a disparate focus on that place so anything to do with London and with a national focus becomes ‘good’, whilst local and regional focusses become less important.

He added: “We need an area of the country which is a counterweight to London and the South East. We need more cylinders on our engine to power UK economic growth and the North will provide that.

“Put together Manchester and Leeds, and then Hull and Liverpool and think about the trade potential in the North – it’s really exciting to think about what could happen next.

“I think London is changing as the pressure for real estate increases it’s harder for those younger tech businesses to set up there, we could be the better alternative, at 30% lower cost in an ambitious and well connected part of the world.

“The future’s about collaborating, not just with our neighbours but across the Pennines as well.”

Mr Riordan was speaking at an event to launch the Association for Consultancy and Engineering. ACE has over 500 company members, a total of over 130,000 professionals and the new Northern branch will be headed up by

Mr Riordan said: “I think it’s great that we have an organisation, a network here, that can champion the talent that we have in this part of the world in terms of engineering, consultancy and the built environment.”