Sir Keir Starmer’s government has vowed to let Britain’s mayors “take back control”
Meeting The Metro Mayors around the cabinet table in 10 Downing Street, The Prime Minister along with his Deputy Angela Rayner released a statement of what he told the Metro Mayors
Having this meeting four days after I was invited by the King to form a government is a real statement of intent on my part, on our part.
Because as we have said over and over again, economy and growth is the number one mission of this Labour government in 2024.
“it’s going to be growth that is worth having, it’s got to be across the country and in every single place and raising standards in every single place. And so, you are all absolutely central to it.
I’m a great believer in devolution, I’m a great believer in the idea that those with skin in the game – those that know their communities – make much better decisions than people sitting in Westminster and Whitehall.
I know you already have growth plans in place, some of you have shared them already, and that is fantastic – what we want to do is build on that with a real partnership where you feel the government is alongside you, supporting you, and working with you to achieve what you want to achieve.
And it’s that partnership we talked about a number of times before the election, but what I wanted to do today was to double down on that commitment and to do it really early on into the government, so it wasn’t weeks or months down the line before we had a chance to meet like today to get on with that discussion.
I think it is the first meeting like this in Downing Street, I don’t think all the metro mayors have come together in Downing Street like this so this is a first and that’s good, it’s what we want.
We will do regular meetings, probably around the country, because I think it’d be good to do it in different areas in each of your areas because there will be things that you will want to say this is what we do here. And it’s that cross collaboration and it’s about making sure that you are central to what we want to achieve. We will work alongside you to achieve it. That growth is so important – everything else hangs off it.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham praised the meeting, telling Sky News “we have a commitment to acouncil of the regions and nations, which soundsfantastic”.
He said a commitment to Northern Powerhouse rail was also welcome.
