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New ‘devolution mission’ in Levelling Up paper ‘relevant in England only’ says UK Government

02 Feb 2022 3 minute read
Picture by the Policy Exchange (CC BY 2.0).

A key part of the UK Government’s plans to ‘level up’ parts of the UK outside of London by devolving more powers to a local level will only be relevant to England, they have said.

Billed as the ‘biggest shift of power from Whitehall to local leaders in modern times’ the plan promises to create new Mayors as already seen in Manchester and Liverpool across England.

The first nine areas invited to begin negotiations will be Cornwall, Derbyshire & Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull & East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire & Nottingham, and Suffolk.

It also includes further devolution deals with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester to extend their powers – with these deals acting as blueprints for other Mayoral Combined Authorities to follow.

But the Levelling Up paper notes that the “local devolution mission is relevant in England only” with no new powers announced for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The UK Government do however add that the plan will see “decentralisation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to local areas in Scotland and Wales”. The Welsh Government have previously criticised the UK Government for bypassing them and handing money straight to local councils.

‘Historic injustice’

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the government’s Levelling Up White Paper in the House of Commons today.

It includes a promise for domestic public investment in Research & Development to increase by at least 40% across Wales, Scotland,  and Northern Ireland, as well as parts of England such as the north of the country.

£50 million from the Safer Streets Fund will also be invested every year to give Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, and also certain civil society organisations in Wales and England the resources they need to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

“The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies,” Michael Gove said.

“Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.

“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.

“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.

“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”


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Phil
Phil
2 years ago

Does Gove really believe the garbage he’s spouting, I wonder?

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago
Reply to  Phil

If he grew legs he would be a lizard…if you have a Tory MP put your hand out…

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
2 years ago

The Guardian has done some number crunching and well-off Tory constituencies in England are getting hundreds of pounds per capita while places of severe deprivation get nothing so levelling maybe but down not up.
You want crushing poverty and Third World inequality, vote Tory.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

Because of the current perception of Wales as a stubby bit sticking out of England the Tory concept of devolution will seek to erode the Welsh system as it stands and “attach” parts of adjacent Welsh counties to English regions. Deeside will be absorbed into a Mersey/Lancs devolved region, Cardiff &Vale will happily join with Bristol to form Cairns’ &ARTD’s wet dream Severnside. Maybe The Midlands will extend into Powys to safeguard their water supplies and recreational facilities. This is not a joke, these ideas are in the system already and approved by Welsh Tories and some other Unionist elements.

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

Westminster has had years to level up the country, it has failed due to a lack of commitment. Now their supposedly precious union is under threat they are acting like they care. What is spouted now is all words which even delivered would be too little too late, the end of the Union is coming.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

Independence for Wales is the only way to free us from our Whitehall aggressors. Anglophile slimy Scot Michael Gove’s agenda is clear. To demote Wales & Scotland. Where we both exist merely to serve England. He wants Wales to return to how it once was. At the Western fringe of Britain voiceless & powerless, ripe to be gang raped of it’s human & natural resources again and again, over and over by Whitehall. No, never again! These are from the same mindset who illegally flooded Tryweryn for English water consumption. The same who put wooded blocks around our children’s necks… Read more »

Dim problem
Dim problem
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

Keep taking the blood pressure pills, and maybe start back on the anti-psychotics. You really need ’em!

Barry Pandy
Barry Pandy
2 years ago
Reply to  Dim problem

Dear Mr Dim

What exactly is your problem?

Talfan y morwr
Talfan y morwr
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

Don’t forget the greatest Welsh speaking city that has ever existed with over 100 Welsh speaking chapels. That’s more Welsh chapels than all the cities in combined was Liverpoo Lerpwl prif ddinas Cymry. That water did not only flush English turds.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago
Reply to  Talfan y morwr

A good place to start to understand the relationship is the Rev. D. Ben Rees book ‘The Welsh in Liverpool’ published by Y Lolfa…

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago

It depends on how many engines the jet has got…he should hitch a ride with his on/off best mate next time he reviews the fighter boys…I expect he is used to two at least…It is a nonsensical thing to say and therefore negates all that went before and follows after…the man is lost in a maze of falsehoods of his own, and the BBC’s making…

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