Andy Burnham will give mayors in England a share of income tax revenue for the first time as part of the new prime minister’s push to devolve power away from London and decentralise the British state.
Burnham, himself a former mayor of Greater Manchester, has made it an early political priority to extend devolution and give powers away from the Westminster government he now runs, empowering regional mayoralties instead.
He has established Number 10 North, a Manchester outpost of his Downing Street office, to co-ordinate the devolution push, with the aim of delivering jobs and growth across the country.
Burnham said he knew what it was like “to be ignored by politicians in Westminster” and that he would not “make that same mistake now I’m PM”.
“Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community. Soon, every local leader will have the power and resources to improve public transport, build homes and create jobs,” he said in a statement.
Burnham’s office said that mayors would begin receiving a “greater share of locally generated revenues” next spring, though relative local needs will be taken into account to equalise funding across the country.
This will start with business rates, which Burnham’s government has already cut for pubs, and his office said further details on that and income tax retention would be set out in a fiscal budget due later this year.
The announcement will only cover England, though the government said it would work with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to try to deliver similar outcomes.
Devolution in England is patchy, however, with metro regions such as Greater Manchester having mayors with substantial powers while around half the population is not covered by such mayors.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout）
