The leading think-tank for the North of England has today called for the next cohort of MPs to form a ‘Devolution Parliament’ and for the next government to reverse decades of damaging centralisation, by giving power back to places across England, starting in the North.
IPPR North’s new analysis reveals Westminster’s creeping centralisation of spending power and sets out how the next government can change the way power is distributed in England, so that we can begin to solve some of our biggest economic and social challenges
The think tank suggests that the new Parliament should set up a new constitutional settlement and that the next cohort of MPs must form a ‘Devolution Parliament’, transferring significant power to all parts of England
Arianna Giovannini, Interim Director at IPPR North, said:
“In just a matter of weeks, the election will be over and a new Parliament will focus on Brexit. But to tackle the deep economic and social challenges that we face, we need more than another ‘Brexit Parliament’. We need a ‘Devolution Parliament’ too.
“The UK is uniquely and disproportionately centralised. Power hoarded in Westminster has damaged places like the North where austerity has had a disproportionate and devastating impact. But all regions have suffered – including London”.
Luke Raikes, Senior Research Fellow at IPPR North, said:
“We need a Devolution Parliament, which irreversibly shifts power to the regions, towns and cities of England so they can take control of their own economies and bridge the deep divisions that centralisation has helped create”.
