Government today is trying to create a ‘system’ of devolution from a legacy formed of a tacit constitution and Thatcherite centralism, explains Professor Michael Moran. Devolution – whether to the Celtic nations or within England – has many faces and raises many issues – of economy, identity and political strategy. But it is worth remembering […]
Could DevoManc create an economy for the common good?
Mark Burton tries to imagine how city-region devolution might help to produce a fairer and more sustainable society. The Greater Manchester devolution deal is firmly rooted in a highly orthodox economic and social model. Other deals, with regions hand-picked by the Treasury, are at various stages of gestation. There is every reason to think they […]
Making devolution work for all: Grabbing and grappling with the opportunity
The University of Manchester and Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) play host to the Making Devolution Work conference next week. To mark the event CLES’s Chief Executive Neil McInroy writes the first of a series of blogs around the conference, examining what devolution could mean for the region and country. The UK is massively […]
Booming Manchester
Manchester’s economy, and its population, is growing, But the decision to ‘pause’ the electrification of the Manchester-Leeds rail line underlines the reality that important decisions are still controlled nationally, explains Professor Diane Coyle. One of the most telling signs of a successful economy is when people vote with their feet and move there. As the […]
The future of metro mayors – all eyes on Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester this week becomes the first combined metro area to have its own mayor. Professor Francesca Gains looks ahead at what awaits Tony Lloyd. Arrangements to deliver an elected metro mayor for Greater Manchester take several significant steps forward this week. In the House of Lords, the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill moves […]
Framing DevoManc
Just how good a deal is DevoManc? David Walker expresses scepticism. Here are two ways of framing DevoManc. The first is (somewhat breathless) localist enthusiasm. A principal city-region is being offered new power to shape spending and services in health and social care, infrastructure and transport. As important as substance is the theatre: a group […]
The good ship SS DevoManc: full steam ahead?
SS DevoManc has now set sail after a six weeks stopover in port during the general election. Dr Lawrence Benson tries to plot its course. Let’s recap on DevoManc. It’s about the devolution of power and resources from Westminster to the city region of Greater Manchester (GM), including for health and social care. This marks […]
We are deBono, we are Devo
Laurence Benson routinely uses the lateral thinking techniques of the original thinker Edward deBono to review new and old policy for public services. As a teaching focused academic at Manchester Business School here Laurence runs the recent devomanc policy through deBono’s Six Thinking Hats technique. Each hat has a different colour to represent a different […]
Will a Greater Manchester Mayor mean even more great stuff happens?
At the Summat New event in Leeds, a group of 20 people from the North, who had never met before, sat in a circle and asked this question: “Are the voices of people living and working in places in the north of England fairly heard in our national conversation?” Here Andrew Wilson answers the question. The […]
Against Ad Hocery: UK Devolution and the Need for Consultation, Consensus and Consideration
Last month the Political and Constitutional Reforms Committee published a report on the future of devolution, in the wake of the Scottish Referendum. Here Dave Richards and Martin Smith pick the report apart and look at the implications for devolution in the UK. The newly published report on the Future of Devolution after the Scottish […]