As Andrew Adonis has noted, the devolution agenda that Tony Blair pursued in office has positively benefited Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and, most glaringly, London. But the English regions and most acutely our major cities (Birmingham, from my perspective) have been left behind. Our major cities should be driving an economic resurgence as well as taking on the world in specific areas such as the creative and digital media sectors. But cities such as Birmingham are instead being left behind.

There are key intertwined themes for Birmingham that need to be addressed. The need for stronger local leadership that is more directly accountable (and attuned) to the electorate and is empowered (and indeed expected) to stand up for Birmingham to much greater effect, particularly when it comes to funding from Whitehall.

In his contribution to the Purple Book, Andrew Adonis sets out his vision of a mayor for a city-conurbation (ie Greater Birmingham) that conceptually is comparable to the powerful elected executive mayor covering Greater London in tandem with the London assembly. The proposal currently on the table for Birmingham does not go so far at present, but it is incumbent on us to set out our vision of how Birmingham can grab the bull by the horns and drag ourselves up and onwards.

Birmingham currently has 120 councillors across the city along with a leader who is selected by his party group on the council (which is the second largest behind the Labour group!). A city leader chosen directly by the people brings name recognition, authority, empowerment and, critically, more visible accountability and responsibility to deliver results to the electorate.

A critical example Adonis uses is his experience of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson successfully lobbying for the £16bn Crossrail project. This huge investment from central government is a significant success story for the London mayoralty that is absolutely unparalleled across England. The level of transformational investment coming towards Birmingham at present is negligible and it was recently reported that investment in transport infrastructure is over three times lower in Birmingham than in London.

An elected mayor with a broader range of devolved powers is a gamechanger for a city-conurbation. The point is that England’s major cities need to have control in two areas crucial to the success of a city:

(1)  the ability to raise money locally through local tax retention and/or tax-raising powers to give the mayor the ability to finance local infrastructure priorities and incentivise and support economic growth;

(2)  the ability to pull together and control transport, regeneration, economic development and planning powers – and crucially funding – with the authority to promote and deliver a holistic strategic vision across the whole city-conurbation.

It isn’t just London that needs strong local leadership with sufficient devolved powers to take charge of its own destiny – and enjoy the benefits. A progressive agenda should continue to build the case for supporting the devolution of powers and responsibilities to local leaders who are empowered and expected to bring strong strategic leadership and good governance to our major city-conurbations. In turn, elected mayors can play their part in unshackling our great cities and bring economic growth and job creation to a greater range of communities across the country.

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Alex Burrows is a member of the Yes to Birmingham Mayor Campaign and Sutton Coldfield CLP

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Photo: Ricky Harrison