See section 42 of the Eng Devo Act. not a lawyer but I’m not convinced that this would allow a grant to be paid for cutting council tax - it permits grants for ‘expenditure incurred’ by councils

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 4d ago

He can give it to LAs to compensate for them cutting.

I’ve been watching this stuff for over a quarter of a century now and I can assure you, this statement is a *really* big deal: we now wait to see if it can overcome the immovable object of Parliamentary accountability

FuturesRob@futuresrob.bsky.social · 5d ago

A massive day for #devo today. A lot of hard yards ahead but feels like a genuine, much anticipated moment. Hats off to everyone who has been plugging away at this for so long www.gov.uk/government/p...

Rumours of Andy Burnham's interest in council tax reform are mentioned, alongside other ideas, in this short explainer commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Could Andy Burnham let mayors raise more taxes?

What taxes can regional mayors raise and could this change with a new Prime Minister?

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Have you heard about local government reorganisation, unitary councils, and not sure which new council you'll be in? Find out using the interactive maps on the House of Commons Library's website: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Proposed unitary authorities 2026: Maps

Maps of the new unitary authorities proposed by the Government in 2026.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

See www.gov.uk/government/c... from 2023 - more impossible than complicated. Tinkering with the new high value multiplier, on the other hand, could do the job (though previous govt promised not to do this till 2029)

Online Sales Tax - Response to the consultation

gov.uk

Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 2w ago

Fell into that one. I could see high st business rates cropping up fairly quickly - that one was from Makerfield - although that’s meant to be funded from an online retailer rise, which is complicated to do, will think

If small business rate relief can be targeted at actual small businesses and not just small properties - which it is - then it is possible to target this type of relief at small and independent pubs too

Nick Gray@path-dependent.bsky.social · 2w ago

It would be good to find a way of none of this accruing to big pub-cos while tenants still struggle. But that's the anti competitive business model. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Recalcitrant departments also need central accountability mechanisms that don't force them into a command relationship with mayoralties. We investigated a few options here: www.ippr.org/articles/acc...

Accountability matters: Securing the future of devolution | IPPR

England’s new mayors will join a group of highly visible leaders. But large-scale mayoral authorities are unfamiliar in England, and they will need to esta

ippr.org

Dan Turner@dtturner.bsky.social · 4w ago

So what should the new PM do? First: leadership. Ministerial success should be tied to devo. A new central institution - a PM-chaired Regional Growth Delivery Unit, run jointly by the Cabinet Office and Treasury - is needed with the muscle to take on Whitehall's most recalcitrant departments.

Huge recommends to this compendium of excellent papers from @city-redi.bsky.social. Many people have been studying ways of making English devolution work for a long time. Commentators struggling to get to grips with the subject would do well to start here blog.bham.ac.uk/lpip/2026/06...

If, like me, you have looked at the Growth and Skills Levy and thought "wouldn't that be a good source of revenue for regional mayors?", this is worth a (sobering) read (£): www.ft.com/content/1a19... As ever the moral is: the design of fiscal devolution is critical to its success

Everyone loves apprenticeships. So why can’t Britain create more of them?

With a million young people out of work, we need to revive the tradition of ‘learning on the job’

ft.com

Having made this remark on Friday I came home to a £35 fine for having unwittingly driven through a congestion charge gate in Oxford recently! I had thought these weren't going live until the Botley Road bridge was fixed, but there you go

Mark Sandford@marksandford.bsky.social · last mo.

Is GM's public transport good enough now to be a realistic alternative, whatever that means exactly, to driving? Few Londoners want/need to drive into the congestion charge zone. The Oxford one is tiny and easy to avoid.

Anyone who "dusts down essays about the Senedd" is not going to get many marks when it comes to English mayoralties

David Higham@oldtrotter.bsky.social · last mo.

As we were discussing @anthonypainter.bsky.social If only they’d been in a position to do anything about it, although I wasn’t aware that anyone was suggesting more power to “regions” www.ft.com/content/7d89... Labour MPs jostling for jobs under Andy Burnham discover fresh passion for devolution

Is GM's public transport good enough now to be a realistic alternative, whatever that means exactly, to driving? Few Londoners want/need to drive into the congestion charge zone. The Oxford one is tiny and easy to avoid.

David Higham@oldtrotter.bsky.social · last mo.

It's also worth noting that one local tax raising lever that Andy Burnham, as Mayor of Greater Manchester, has always ruled out is congestion charging for private vehicles.

About 80 of us, and you can access our general briefings at commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Impartial research and information

The House of Commons Library is a research and information service based in the UK Parliament.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Tom W@thomaswilliams.bsky.social · last mo.

Yes. And MPs can email them with questions or request bespoke research. They’re excellent

Could Andy Burnham allow English mayors to raise more taxes? commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri... @mia-gray.bsky.social @lgstudies.bsky.social @local.gov.uk @heather-themj.bsky.social @sarahcalkin.bsky.social @muldoonsmith.bsky.social @sarahayres.bsky.social

Could Andy Burnham let mayors raise more taxes?

What taxes can regional mayors raise and could this change with a new Prime Minister?

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

This point is almost more important than scratching around for more 'powers' to devolve. Mayors have a decent range of legal powers already: what they need is the resources to exercise the powers, and for other public bodies to step back or be merged into them and the money to follow accordingly

Mark Sandford@marksandford.bsky.social · last mo.

This is absolutely key right now - particularly if mayors are to have large-scale investment decision-making powers and/or any real fiscal devolution. Forecasting, data, strategy and relationship-building capacity, what scholars call 'slack resources'

This is absolutely key right now - particularly if mayors are to have large-scale investment decision-making powers and/or any real fiscal devolution. Forecasting, data, strategy and relationship-building capacity, what scholars call 'slack resources'

Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · last mo.

Completely agree with this from Stephen. Would add a further point. Local/sub regional capability will need to be built. Manchester is the exception, not the rule as.ft.com/r/4e025d2d-d... l

Going to piggyback on this excellent thread with a piece on this subject that I wrote for the @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk in March: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/line-da... also with the benefit of one of @jacknewman.bsky.social's maps

Line dancing: can harmonised boundaries be delivered? - Bennett School of Public Policy

The Government says it wants to align the boundaries of England’s public institutions with new strategic authorities. Yet recent reforms in areas like health and policing reveal competing pressures, a...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

JP Spencer@jpspencer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Where is Darlington? Now, I know where Darlington is. I used to work there. But if I asked you ‘where is Darlington’ in the sense of which local authority, administrative geography or region then you might struggle. And this map shows why. 🧵 1/10

If the Chancellor introduces fiscal devolution for England's regions, will it create growth, accountability, and a glut of new funds? Don't count on it. But if done well it will change the balance of power between mayors and the Government, for the better: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

If Fiscal Devolution is the Answer for English Local Government, What is the Question?

Many commentators critiquing the British state cite fiscal devolution to English local authorities as a desirable reform. This article argues that fiscal devolution will be of questionable benefit un...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

In the wake of Andy Burnham being selected for the Makerfield by-election, here is a quick rundown of the technicalities around elected mayors becoming MPs, including PCC mayors, MPs becoming mayors, what happens if the mayor's office is vacant, etc: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Andy Burnham and Makerfield: Can a mayor be an MP?

Andy Burnham can stand to be elected as an MP while he is mayor of Greater Manchester, but if he wins he is immediately disqualified from the mayoralty.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Cannot see that SV will be in place for any by-election given the timeframe. The provisions in the 2026 Act haven't been commenced yet. Standard practice is to have a six-month lead-in for a system change.

Rob Ford@robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

And *that* is important because if we aggregate local election results across GM, Reform are in first (so would win under FPP) but the combined Lab/Grn/LD vote is much larger (so Lab are best placed to win under supplemental vote, where voters get a second vote for one of the front runners)

The Positive Public Policy (PoPP) gang have written a blog for the @acadsocsciences.bsky.social Devolution Hub inviting readers to 'walk on the bright side' of English devolution. If we can engage positively with new opportunities the future may be better than the past acss.org.uk/walking-on-t...

‘Walking on the bright side’ of English devolution: Exploring a critical space for innovation and policy effectiveness at the sub-national tier – Academy of Social Sciences

acss.org.uk

Have you heard that strategic authority mayors may be getting new financial powers? Are you up to date with the restructuring of local authorities and creation of new strategic authorities in England? Read more in Monitor 92 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

Delivering on harmonising boundaries is a significant component of this type of aspiration. I looked at latest developments in that space here: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/line-da...

Line dancing: can harmonised boundaries be delivered? - Bennett School of Public Policy

The Government says it wants to align the boundaries of England’s public institutions with new strategic authorities. Yet recent reforms in areas like health and policing reveal competing pressures, a...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

JP Spencer@jpspencer.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Fantastic to see @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social creating deputy mayors for health to join up the NHS with other services in an area - starting with @andyburnham.bsky.social in GM and Oliver Coppard in South Yorkshire. This takes forward something that I have long thought was a good idea.

Decent summary from BBC of issues around devolution in Cornwall and Devon here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... But the article is a little bit behind the curve:

Cornwall devolution: Could an independence bid be lost?

Supporters of more Cornish devolution have repeatedly fought against any forced links with Devon.

bbc.co.uk

Latest piece on questions around English mayoral devolution. Can health authorities and police authorities be reformed in line with spatial development strategies and new Foundation Strategic Authorities? Find out more at www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/line-da...

Line dancing: can harmonised boundaries be delivered? - Bennett School of Public Policy

The Government says it wants to align the boundaries of England’s public institutions with new strategic authorities. Yet recent reforms in areas like health and policing reveal competing pressures, a...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

Has our long-standing emphasis on a consumerist model of citizenship - emphasising citizens as recipients of security, not contributors to it - served to degrade national resilience? A thought-provoking, and beautifully written, post from Polly Mackenzie @pollymackenzie.bsky.social

What to do when the sunlight hardens

Crisis makes the strongest case for a different kind of state.

open.substack.com

What's the point of a Local Public Accounts Committee? More bureaucracy, meetings, reports...? See some thoughts on the gaps that a body of this kind could fill at www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...

Mark Sandford: Scrutinising the local state

A local public accounts committee model could examine how mayors are performing their stewardship roles, writes an honorary professor at the School for

lgcplus.com

I realised today that this is starting to give me Northern Ireland vibes...

Tim Bale@timbale.bsky.social · 5mo ago

#2BlocPolitics

Surely this will be affected by permission for exceptional financial support, to some extent at least?

jacktshaw.bsky.social@jacktshaw.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Interested in why local authorities are borrowing at significantly higher rates. Thoughts?

I have a piece in the Municipal Journal on using economic valuations to make the case for, and choose between, policy options www.themj.co.uk/helping-mayo...

Helping mayors map a path to better places

The Government's English devolution agenda is introducing many new responsibilities and ways of working. Mayors will be required to publish a local growth plan,...

themj.co.uk