As Parliament returns this week so does the never-ending Tory leadership election, with Kemi Badenoch remaining one of the favourites. If elected as Tory leader Badenoch will undoubtedly present challenges to the Labour Government, but her policies on devolution provide Labour with an open goal.
During her campaign, Badenoch- who oversees devolution in her new shadow brief- said “we can’t just accept devolution… we need to talk about rolling it back.”
Badenoch has sent a clear message to the nations and regions of this country- the Tories want to take power away from you so they can hoard it in Westminster themselves.
Badenoch’s views on devolution are part of a broader history of the centralising tendencies within the Tory Party, from the abolition of the Greater London councils to the starving of funds to local authorities since 2010 and the mistrust of local Public Health services during the Covid pandemic.
The last Labour Government turbocharged devolution through new legislatures in Scotland and Wales and by increasing the powers and scope of local Government. As a former carer, Angela Rayner knows the importance of local services and through the new English Devolution Bill she has already set in motion plans to empower communities across the country.
Badenoch is anathema to the basic principle that power should be held as close as possible to the people. It is morally wrong for Whitehall to have so much control of the money and powers of local communities.
But even if that moral case is not sufficient, the arguments for devolution are also deeply practical. That Britain is the most centralised country in the OECD and that nothing in this country seems to work are two sides of the same coin. Strong evidence shows that three of the country’s biggest problems- stagnant economic growth, profound health inequalities and record levels of economic inactivity- can be resolved by embracing devolution.
On economic growth, a report from Harvard University earlier this year highlighted excessive centralisation as a key barrier to growth. In order to ameliorate the low growth outside of London and the South East, the Harvard report recommended devolving greater control to Metro Mayors including expanded financial powers and more autonomy on skills, innovation and transport policy. While the new Labour government used its first week in Government to empower First Ministers and Metro Mayors to pursue local growth plans, Badenoch’s centralising approach would stymie growth- hurting our living standards and providing less revenue to fund our public services.
Likewise, reversing devolution would also halt the policies needed to tackle the deepest moral scandal in Britain in 2024- that people are living shorter and less healthy lives because of where they live. For example, research conducted by the Lancet into health inequalities in Greater Manchester between 2016 and 2019 found that the area had “better life expectancy than expected after devolution.” I saw first hand as Public Health Lead for Bury Council that giving autonomy to communities meant that people in Greater Manchester lived more empowered and healthier lives. These increases in life expectancy were also taking place against the broader damaging effects of austerity and show what could be done by a Government that devolves power and invests in our future.
Moreover, high levels of economic inactivity or ‘hidden unemployment’ are another appalling legacy of the last Government. Many of those who are economically inactive are on NHS waiting lists and want to work, but were targeted by punitive sanctions- the worst possible solution to a health problem. The new Labour Government have already started a new approach to this, by devolving new powers on health and skills to Mayors and local authorities. By allowing local authorities, and not Whitehall, to tailor employment support, this is yet another example of how devolution can tackle some of country’s biggest problems.
So as the shocking inheritance continues to bite, the next few years will clearly be tough. But this insurgent Government has the right plan to give our country its future back, and unlike Kemi Badenoch’s programme, devolution is at the heart of it.
To read more on how devolution could alleviate the the deep inequalities facing different parts of the country, see ‘Governing for the whole country: Labour’s regional policy’.
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