Cry for devolution of power to Manchester sparked by Scottish referendum

In his announcement outside of Downing Street, David Cameron has promised a wave of new powers to Manchester, and other English regions, in time for next year’s general election.

The PM was “delighted” with the ‘no’ vote, saying that Scotland would get specific proposals for further devolution in November.

For the first time ever, he promised similar moves for the English regions - a pledge which he hopes will get cross-party support.

David Cameron said: “I have long believed a crucial part missing from this national discussion is England.

“We have heard the voice of Scotland and now the millions of voices of England must also be heard.

“The question of English votes for English laws, the so-called West Lothian Question, requires a decisive answer – so just as Scotland will vote separately on their issues of tax, spending and welfare, so too England as well as Wales and Northern Ireland should be able to vote on these issues.

“All this must take place in tandem with and at the same pace as the settlement for Scotland.”

Lord Peter Smith, chair of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s words about the need to empower our great cities and look forward to discussions with central government about how we achieve this as soon as possible. Greater Manchester has the experience and capability to move quickly.

“The referendum process has highlighted the compelling case for greater devolution for English city regions.

“Greater Manchester has a bigger economy than Wales or Northern Ireland, and a population of almost three million, yet we have considerably less freedom over our funding and spending priorities. As more and more powers and flexibilities are devolved to other parts of the union, the position of major English economic powerhouses such as Greater Manchester becomes ever more untenable.

“We believe that our record of joint working, and the maturity of our institutions such as Greater Manchester Combined Authority, make this area uniquely well-placed to demonstrate the benefits of greater freedom to make the decisions and funding allocations which will help the region realise its full potential - maximising economic growth and job creation and reforming public services to improve results at the same times as reducing spending. But to be achieve that we need the freedom to make decisions on funding and priorities based on the area’s needs, not ‘one size fits all’ approaches handed down from Westminster and Whitehall.”

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