Minister dismisses hopes of devolution for region
Blow from Powerhouse chief on his first visit
YORKSHIRE WILL not be given a region-wide deal to take more control over its own affairs, a key minister will say today.
Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry will use his first visit in the role to the region today to reject the case for a Yorkshire-wide devolution deal and insist that moves to transfer powers away from London must be focused on cities.
His intervention comes as former chancellor George Osborne, who coined the Northern Powerhouse idea, called on the North of England to work together to make the case for investment in better infrastucture.
Mr Berry’s declaration is a major blow to supporters of a single Yorkshire devolution deal who had hoped that Mr Berry replacing Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy – an opponent of the idea – as Northern Powerhouse Minister could help their cause.
New metro-mayors were elected in regions including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Tees Valley in May to wield powers in areas such as transport and skills as a result of devolution deals agreed with the Government.
A devolution agreement has been struck covering South Yorkshire but the election of a metro-mayor was postponed until next year following a legal challenge and disagreement between council leaders.
Supporters of a single Yorkshire deal have argued city-based agreements will damage the region’s identity and be unfair to rural areas.
Mr Berry said: “There will not be a ‘full Yorkshire’ devolution deal. Yorkshire is a fantastic brand. But devolution is about giving control to cities.
“Sheffield goes first. Next May, people in the Sheffield region will elect a mayor and I share the strong view of local business leaders that the deal we signed in October 2015 remains the right deal for Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield.
“Indeed, it’s the only deal that’s there for those areas.”
Mr Osborne, who now chairs the Northern Powerhouse Partnership he set up after being sacked as chancellor, told business leaders in Hull that they were “more likely to get a bigger share of the cake” if they acted in unison to call for central funding.
Speaking at a Northern Powerhouse event at energy giant Siemens’ wind turbine plant in Hull, he said: “If you can make an argument that there is a big economic benefit that is bigger than the benefit that just goes to Hull, and will benefit the entire economy and help job creation in the North West, then you are punching above your weight.
“The North can make a case and say we have really thought about this and we are not just submitting a long wishlist.
“It can say that there are some big industries here and some big capabilities, and that we are linking them together and here is the plan to do it and it needs these things, and you get the leaders of Manchester and Liverpool saying those improvements in Hull are things we need as well, then you are much more likely to get a bigger share of the cake.”
There will not be a “full Yorkshire” devolution deal. Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry.
EVEN IN semi political ‘retirement’ editing London’s Evening Standard newspaper, George Osborne probably wields more influence on the Northern Powerhouse than those Ministers who are now tasked with transforming this region’s economy.
When Jake Berry, the newly-appointed Northern Powerhouse Minister, visits Leeds today, he won’t stand out in the crowd because he’s a low-profile Tory MP whose previous claim to fame was managing Boris Johnson’s aborted Tory leadership contest a year ago.
The same cannot be said about the former Chancellor. Like it or not, he deserves credit for recognising the North’s untapped potential and he, more than most, knows how the Government works.
When he says that this region needs to raise its game when submitting infrastructure schemes for approval, and cite how the wider economy will benefit from the investment of public funds, Yorkshire’s business and political leaders should take note of this back-seat driver.
When he says that the Government needs to look again at the funding formula that is used to calculate the cost-benefit analysis of transport schemes so the North does not keep losing out to London and the South East, Ministers should do likewise.
However, while Mr Osborne was speaking at the Siemens wind turbine plant in Hull which is a prima facie example of the benefits that can be accrued when public and private sector work strategically, two things need to happen to ensure that this catalyst for regeneration is not the exception. Not only does the aforementioned Mr Berry need to prove that his was not just a token appointment, but this area’s leaders need to decide how best to press this county’s case. And they can only do so by reconciling their differences on devolution before rival regions, and the Government, simply bypass Yorkshire.