To: National Government via Number 10.
Give Local Leaders more power
Devolve power and money to areas in England which are more populous than Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Why is this important?
The Coronavirus restrictions and disagreements over them have revealed how little Central Government either knows about regions outside of London or cares. The creation of combined Local Authorities with Metro Mayors such as Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham came with little extra money and few extra powers. Yorkshire has more people than Scotland, Greater Manchester is almost twice the size of Northern Ireland, Merseyside nearing the population of Wales. England is one of the most centralised countries in the world.
In recent weeks Central Government has shown its contempt for the regions by not inviting relevant MPs, such as Lisa Nandy, to meetings because they don’t know who they represent, offering lower financial support than under full lockdown, ignoring the fact that Greater Manchester has been under the equivalent of tier 2 ineffectual lockdown for two and a half months. But they still don’t listen to local leaders, whether they be Labour, such as Andy Burnham or Conservative such as Andy Street, Mayor of West Midlands.
By signing you will be supporting local leaders in the North and Midlands of England to support their people.
In recent weeks Central Government has shown its contempt for the regions by not inviting relevant MPs, such as Lisa Nandy, to meetings because they don’t know who they represent, offering lower financial support than under full lockdown, ignoring the fact that Greater Manchester has been under the equivalent of tier 2 ineffectual lockdown for two and a half months. But they still don’t listen to local leaders, whether they be Labour, such as Andy Burnham or Conservative such as Andy Street, Mayor of West Midlands.
By signing you will be supporting local leaders in the North and Midlands of England to support their people.
