Regional cities drive prosperity, says a charter for local freedom
The Cities are grabbing all the limelight again. I think the drafters of Magna Carta knew that the town couldn’t do it alone. The RSN has a tidy manifesto out there and I hope those likely to get dazzled by stories like this also find time to read it It would also be good if the 21 Century City Burghers behind these initiatives had the humility to think about the unbreakable bonds they have with their rural hinterlands. This story tells us:
In Glasgow, this week, leaders of Britain’s 10 largest cities outlined a modern charter for local freedom to give councils the legitimacy enjoyed by counterparts in other mature western democracies.
It was unveiled at a summit rich in symbolism, with the recent addition of Cardiff and Glasgow city councils to an influential eight-strong Core Cities group of English cities. This pan-British urban alliance is gaining momentum.
But it has deeper significance. Britain’s core cities – from Newcastle to Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Liverpool – have gained support for their charter from a wide range of authorities, across the political divide.
The charter aims to “reverse the loss of faith in politics and strengthen civil society”. It calls on the next government to create an independent body which could oversee a new constitutional relationship between the centre and local government. It would decide on the balance of power between Whitehall and town halls – an initiative that the Guardian suggested in an alternative election manifesto during the 1990s.