The North has been compared to East Germany as mayors as well as civic and business leaders called for levelling up to be 'hard-wired' into UK law.
Ahead of the Convention of the North in Manchester on Wednesday, January 25, leaders have argued there should be a move away from the current competitive bidding systems for Government funding to a settlement where all regions have the funding they need to close the gaps in living standards and help grow the UK economy as a whole.
The call follows the Government’s Levelling Up Fund announcement last week, which saw some local authorities receive short-term pots of money for local projects – but many councils also losing out.
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The plan is said to have taken inspiration from Germany, where the constitution guarantees equivalent living standards and strong local leadership.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: "The Levelling Up Fund announcement last week laid bare the issues with these short-term competitive funding pots.
"We end up with winners and losers but nobody is able to actually plan for long-term investment in their areas.
"Hard-wiring levelling up into UK law would move us away from policy by press release and start to tackle the unequal living standards we have in our country.
"If we were able to close the gaps between the North and London and the South East, we’d see drastic improvements in everything from incomes to skills, to ultimately boosting life expectancy.
"This would of course be good for people in the North, but would also help grow the UK economy as a whole.
"Germany shows us what can be done when you hard-wire legal guarantees to tackle inequalities and empower local leaders into the fabric of your country.
"East Germany has seen long-term support and investment since the fall of communism – and it has worked. Cities in Eastern Germany are now powering ahead of cities here in the North.
"Our own history has shown us that, too often, the North struggles to get to the top of the Government’s to-do list – whichever political party is in charge.
"That’s why we need to hard-wire levelling up into UK law and unlock the potential of the North to help the whole country thrive."
North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll added: "You can’t level up by pouring a load of concrete. We need to level up our people too. This takes long-term thinking and a baked-in commitment to strategic investment.
"In my patch we have shown what’s possible, creating 4,600 new jobs in 3.5 years and increasing adult skills enrolments by 50%.
"We must bin the beauty pageant of competitive bidding between councils. We need to replace it with a new social settlement that finally proves to the apprentice in Blyth that they are just as important to the future of this country as the graduate in Kensington."
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: "It shouldn’t matter where you happen to be born or live, we all deserve the same opportunities and living standards.
"Here in South Yorkshire that’s simply not the case. If you live in Rotherham you’re likely to die five years earlier than if you live in Richmond. If you live in Barnsley you’re paid £600 less a month than if you live in Berkshire. We were promised a ‘London style transport system’, but 1 in 3 of our trains are cancelled.
"The Government set out its own ambitions to level up by 2030. We have just 362 weeks to go, and the truth is, they have no plan. They have no strategy. Instead, we compete with other, equally deserving regions for pots of money handed out at the whims of ministers. Communities like those I represent cannot take control of their own destiny. That needs to change for our country to thrive."
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: "For every minute on the roughly two-hour train journey from the Liverpool City Region to London, household income per head falls by £155.
"That’s a gap we’ll never be able to close unless Westminster gets over its obsession with competitive beauty contests that pit areas against each other for short-term pots of funding. It affects our ability to properly plan for the long term and distracts energy and resources away from getting on with delivering for our residents.
"Delivering proper levelling up – which should be more about tackling entrenched inequalities than vanity projects and photo ops at shiny buildings – is something that must be above party politics. But we all know how governments of all stripes can struggle with long-term thinking.
"That is why we need this to be a legal requirement. Only then will we begin to close the yawning chasm between North and South, and enable our residents to reach their full potential."
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, added: "Last week, the government handed twice as much funding to London and the South East than to Yorkshire, laying bare the fundamental flaws in its levelling up agenda. This scattergun approach pours cash into areas that already have it, and makes areas in real need compete against each other for the remaining scraps.
"We need a real plan for levelling up, enshrined in law, that requires decent living standards for everybody across the UK. This would mean trusting local leaders with long-term funding pots to make decisions on what is best for the communities they know and serve."
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