England’s mayors should be given sweeping new powers, says devolution expert

Andy Burnham has said the ‘days of Whitehall fighting the devolution of power into the regions and nations are over, for good’. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

Mayors should be given power over a wide range of public services, including social care, childcare and skills, according to a paper written by one of the people helping shape Andy Burnham’s devolution plans.

JP Spencer, the head of devolution policy at the thinktank ThinkLabour, calls for mayors to take control over large parts of service provision in a paper that gives an indication of how the probable next prime minister could seek to shift power out of Whitehall.