Angela Rayner defends devolution plans as Andy Burnham opens No 10 North
Angela Rayner has defended Andy Burnham’s plan to boost local mayors’ spending power, saying they will not be forced to compete for it like the dystopian Hunger Games film, reports BritPanorama.
Housing minister Ms Rayner stated that the prime minister’s objective of increasing regional authority does not imply a competitive struggle for funds from the central government. She urged a collaborative approach to funding local projects rather than an adversarial one.
Ms Rayner used a hypothetical scenario involving her friend, former Labour MP and current West Yorkshire Mayor Tracey Brabin, to illustrate how the devolution plans should function. She suggested that Ms Brabin would advocate for regional investments as a unified need rather than begging for financial support.
“She’ll be saying ‘this is our collective endeavour within my region, I am going to invest money we have got devolved,’” Ms Rayner stated, contrasting it with a vision where regions vie for resources like contenders in a survival competition.
Her remarks came ahead of her attendance at the inaugural meeting of Mr Burnham’s ‘No 10 North’ in Manchester, an initiative aimed at affirming his commitment to decentralising power away from Whitehall. This centre is intended to facilitate regional priorities including reindustrialisation and regeneration.
Mr Burnham expressed considerable enthusiasm for his first day at No 10 North, calling it “the best day of my life.” He reflected on his personal journey, noting the 35 years since he left Manchester as a recent graduate struggling to find employment.
“Things are just completely coming full circle here for me… at the end of a fairly big week, is just everything to me,” he shared, drawing attention to the city’s past economic struggles as the 1980s transitioned into the 1990s.
As a longstanding advocate for devolution, Mr Burnham has consistently called for greater regional autonomy during his tenure as mayor of Greater Manchester. He also highlighted in his remarks outside Number 10 his criticism of the centralisation of political power in Britain, pledging to “take power out of here, and carry it into every postcode in the land.”
This approach, he indicated, would involve bringing essential services “under stronger public control,” reinforcing his agenda which may encompass sectors such as water, transport, and housing.
His return to Manchester and the establishment of No 10 North may signal a significant shift in how the UK approaches its regional governance and funding mechanisms.
