Councils should take devolved powers now while they still can
We had a protracted discussion about devolution at the RSN conference a couple of weeks ago. There was very little enthusiasm for the idea of a super mayor in most rural areas represented. This story therefore gives much food for thought. It tells us:
It was a package worth £900m, which would have delivered better transport links and more housebuilding, and improved skill provision in Tyne and Wear. But last week, leaders of four of the region’s seven local authorities voted against proceeding with the devolution deal that the region had spent nearly a year negotiating. Nonplussed, the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, immediately pulled the whole thing off the table, in a move that raises serious questions about where the devolution agenda goes next. Is Westminster’s determination to devolve power to cities starting to flag? Or is it councils that are losing their appetite for more powers in the face of austerity?
On the face of it, the devolution deal is a casualty of Brexit. Regional leaders wanted assurances that they would get all their European money up to 2020 and beyond, but the government would only guarantee projects signed before the forthcoming autumn statement.
Many in the north-east believe the European money was merely a proxy for problems that have dogged the negotiation process. The government requires devolution to be accompanied by a new, directly elected regional mayor, heading a combined authority with powers over transport and economic development. Some of the north-east’s Labour leaders saw this as a challenge to their authority.