Less than a week prior to Scotland deciding whether to go it alone or maintain its union with the rest of Britain, the eight English Core City leaders will urge Westminster at a GVA-hosted Summit in London today to grant more regional powers so that they too can start benefiting from the devolved policy Scotland already sees.
Sir Richard Leese, Chair of the Core Cities Cabinet and Leader of Manchester City Council, leads the combined calls for greater fiscal and decision-making powers for the English city regions: “With the prospect of devolution looming for Scotland and Wales irrespective of the outcome of the Scottish referendum, decentralisation within England is now one of the biggest single economic issues facing Government.”
GVA, one of the UK’s leading commercial property advisers, will launch new research at the Core Cities Summit at Vintners Hall in central London. The report, entitled ‘Evolving Cities’, will highlight how the case for greater regional control is a compelling one given that the eight English Core Cities and their regions account for 27% of the English economic output.
What’s more, the UK has the most centralised state among the OECD nations and arguably in the whole of the developed world. In 2011 only 2.5% of the UK taxation was set at the local level, against 5.8% in France, 10.9% in Germany and 15.9% in Sweden. Tax levels in the UK’s regional cities are at circa 5%, compared to 50% in New York, 70% in Tokyo and 25% on average across the OECD countries.
Sir Richard Leese continues: “More autonomy for cities is increasingly accepted. The Chancellors speech in my own city of Manchester called for more devolution and HS3; the Leader of the Opposition’s welcome of the decentralising Adonis Growth Review; the Deputy PM’s commitment to further faster devolution; and the RSA City Growth Commission, chaired by leading global economist Jim O’Neil, all point firmly in the same direction – set cities free and they will deliver more for business and for the economy.”
The research highlights how the Core Cities, whose ranks have recently swelled to include Glasgow as the ninth and newest member, were once global drivers of trade, commerce and industry, sharing investment opportunities and wealth creation with London more equally. With the decline of many regional industries and manufacturing in general post-war, the commerciality of these cities has declined too, and the economy has become imbalanced towards London and the South East.
Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Independent forecasts demonstrate that the Core Cities have the potential to deliver an additional 1.16 million jobs and £222 billion into the national economy by 2030. Our transport systems need a step change to enable this to happen, improving national connectivity, particularly through High Speed Rail beginning with HS2, and improving and integrating local transport systems.
“Local transport infrastructures require radical improvement if we are to maximise economic growth from our Core Cities. We have under-invested in transport nationally and particularly outside the South East.”
Today, London has become a modern global powerhouse built on finance, trade and entrepreneurialism over centuries of commercial evolution, but that tremendous growth has not reached other parts of the country. As demand for political and fiscal devolution from London into the regions intensifies, Core City leaders have reached the consensus that only together can the regions plan for and sustain balanced economic growth, exploring new opportunities and maximising the benefits of skilled and motivated local workforces and localised marketplaces to attract investment both from within the UK and from overseas.
Iain Jenkinson, Senior Director and head of Planning, Development and Regeneration in the North for GVA, comments: “The Core Cities project collectively represents the first chance in a generation for regional cities to work together to actively shape their own future; the powers they currently have are only a starting point. This will not be a quick fix. Rather it will take time and require the Core Cities to continue working together with a range of partners, from international governments and sovereign wealth funds to more local players such as universities and business leaders.
“Schemes such as an improved rail network or hub airport require planning, funding and support at a macro level but in the long run, it is up to the Core Cities themselves to shape and fund what works best for them. Central to this agenda is the devolution of even more powers to create greater fiscal, economic and political autonomy, and to seal strong and sustainable growth for decades to come.”
The Core Cities Summit comprises a morning debate in which city and business leaders will set out where their growth priorities are, and what they need from central government to catalyse and drive business expansion and job creation.
Panel members will include several of the core city leaders. Business leaders will include: Jim O’Neill, Chair of the RSA Growth Commission; Simon Carver, former CEO of LoveFilm and Mothercare plc; Ruairidh Jackson, Senior Projects Director at Argent (Property Development) Services LLP; Julie Alexander, Director, Urban Development, Siemens plc; Sara Parker, Regional Director at CBI, and; Iain Jenkinson, Senior Director in Planning, Development and Regeneration at GVA.