Member Article

Yorkshire leaders part of Core Cities will not accept 'half measures' on devolution

Voters ‘will not accept delays’ or ‘half measures’ on devolution city leaders from across the UK including Leeds and Sheffield have said.

Meeting at the Labour party conference in Manchester 10 city leaders represented by the umbrella organisation Core Cities UK signed a strongly worded letter to first secretary of state William Hague asking for devolution to cities across the UK to be enacted at the same speed as devolution to Scotland.

The leaders welcomed a statement by the Prime Minister saying that the UK’s great cities must be ‘empowered’ following the close run Scottish referendum.

But they said: “Our communities, our voters, will not accept delays based on constitutional wrangles, or half measures delivered through political compromise.”

The eight English Core Cities – Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – have recently been joined by Cardiff and Glasgow, forming ‘Core Cities UK’.

The Core Cities Cabinet has issued the following letter to William Hague MP, First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons who has been charged by the Prime Minister with delivering devolution and constitutional change following the Scottish Referendum ‘No’ result (copied to the leaders of all three main parties and Lord Kelvin who is overseeing this process for Scotland).

The letter to Hague read: “The 10 Core Cities deliver 28% of the English, Welsh and Scottish economies combined. By 2030, the eight English Core Cities alone could put 1.16 million jobs and £222 billion extra into the economy.

“That’s like adding the entire economy of Denmark to the UK - with Glasgow and Cardiff onside it will be even more - more houses, jobs, growth and prosperity.

“To reach these targets, the English cities alone will need to achieve the following. • 259,000 more graduates and 443,000 people with NVQ Level 1-3 than currently predicted • Transport infrastructure capable of supporting 250,000 more commuters and 51,000 extra business journeys a day • Around £104 billion capital investment “These challenges cannot be met by our heavily centralised and over bureaucratic systems of investment and delivery. Although our cities contribute a massive share of the nation’s wealth, they largely underperform by international standards.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .