West Yorkshire has finally secured a devolution deal – six years after rival Greater Manchester obtained devolved powers.
The £1.8bn agreement will result in the creation of a metro mayor on the eastern side of the Pennines next year, as Rishi Sunak hailed a Budget to “level up” the regions.
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It removes a long-standing stumbling block in the building of the Northern Powerhouse – a key ambition of the Chancellor’s predecessor, George Osborne.
Treasury documents say: “This devolution deal is an important step in delivering on our levelling up agenda by giving power and investment to local areas.”
Levelling-up the region
Proposals for a Leeds metro mayor emerged in 2015 but talks stalled amid wider calls for a “one Yorkshire” devolution bid to unify the historic county. A South Yorkshire deal was agreed by the Government in January.
News of the deal came as Mr Sunak also announced plans to open a new economic campus in the North, which will become home to over 750 Treasury and other Government staff as part of a plan to move 22,000 civil servants from Whitehall – an idea first mooted back in 2010.
The Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen warned the Chancellor that the campus “must not go to Manchester or Leeds” and must be located outside of major cities so it “truly represents the North”.
In another boost, Mr Sunak said eight metro mayors including the new West Yorkshire mayor will get London-style funding settlements worth £4.2bn – with discussions opened with Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands in the coming months.
In a joint statement, West Yorkshire’s leaders hailed their “ambitious deal” that will see a “significant transfer” of powers from Whitehall on issues including transport and skills.
Judith Blake, the leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We have been working on this for a long time. We have always said we want to stick it out and that we would get the deal that reflects our needs and ambitions. Getting the biggest deal in the country has been worth waiting for.”
‘Put rocket boosters under the levelling up agenda’
The West Yorkshire deal includes a guaranteed £1.1bn over 30 years and control of West Yorkshire’s £63m adult education budget. It also includes £317m for public transport, cycling and walking, £25m to support the development of a British Library North in Leeds.
Core Cities UK, an alliance of 11 cities from Belfast to Bristol, has now called on Downing Street to “put rocket boosters under the levelling up agenda” by committing to even more devolution in city regions.
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Today’s Budget has made a start on levelling up the North but in truth it is only the start.
”Ministers have made a lot of promises to people here over recent months but what has been announced today does not live up to the rhetoric.”
