Slice of the pie
Devolution is only the start, the real challenge is making power-sharing work for everyone, argues Alastair Harper
In his first speech outside Number 10, Andy Burnham declared his policy priority: to “take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more.” Devolution is Andy Burnham’s first instinct. This is wonderful news. Effective regional governance, however, requires not only devolution, but also evolution.
Wresting control away from Whitehall has the potential to end the ‘one size fits all’ approach to policy that has dominated in recent decades. The consequences of this model have been dire. For example, until 2024, funding for housing retrofit came mostly from the centre; some from the energy department, some from the housing department, each with their own rules. Money earmarked for retrofitting ‘social housing’ in fact went to any tenure supported by the Affordable Homes Programme, including middle-class ownership models. The problems did not end there: the funding also had to be used within 12 months and mandated that a percentage had to be spent on homes off the gas grid. This might have helped rural areas, but it baked in an element of failure for urban councils; most returned underspent money when the year was up.
Another example of destructive top-down strategy was the establishment of narrowly quantitative housing targets that ignored local conditions. In Blackpool, for instance, reliance on housing benefit to pay private-sector landlords predominates. Here, low-cost homes for ownership would provide social stability. In Balham, meanwhile, the private housing market is profitable enough to subsidise more homes for social rent. Allowing regional government to design their own housing strategy would help ensure local need is met.
If councils are empowered to design their policies, it surely follows that they should be able to retain the revenue generated locally to fund them, rather than handing it straight to the Treasury. However, this approach carries a risk of postcode-based inequity. Retaining the overnight visitor levy locally, for instance, would see local leaders in Oxford, Newquay and Westminster rejoicing, while appearing distinctly unfair to areas such as… well, Makerfield.
In this and other ways, devolution could create new problems, both for social equity and for practical delivery. It is not as simple as ironing out the relationship between Westminster and metro mayors, either: while it was too much national micromanagement that frustrated Burnham’s approach to the pandemic, it was council interference that derailed his attempt at a clean air zone. We need to find the sweet spot. Thankfully, we have useful examples of best practice to which we can refer.
Our most mature regional government, the Greater London Authority, celebrated its 26th anniversary this year. Its history boasts considerable success in balancing regional equity with local focus. The London Plan, for example, facilitates a spatial strategy that works across the capital, allowing transport hubs to be linked to housing development. Currently under consultation, the next plan aims to address topics including climate resilience, heat networks and data centres. This model stands above parochialism while offering more flexibility and fitness for purpose than any clunky national standard.
London also exemplifies that, sometimes, power needs to go up as well as down. For years, the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has been held in abeyance by a single ward in Westminster: the famously contentious West End ward. As a result, our nation’s most famous high street has remained stuck in the car-centric 70s. At the same time, Soho, a globally renowned centre for nightlife, has been treated with a level of licensing caution more appropriate to a parish council debating a village pub. Now, however, Angela Rayner has given the mayor of London control of Oxford Street’s development, and the development of strategic licensing powers has given him, for the first time, the green light to restore London’s nightlife.
Power at the regional level does not need to work against local authorities. London, again, provides an example of how individual councils can benefit from regional governance. At the beginning of 2026, a new organisation, co-owned by the GLA and London Councils, started delivering ‘always on’ retrofit across the capital. Rather than the frustrating patchwork approach I mentioned earlier, this organisation, Warmer Homes London, brings the benefit of regional financial and programmatic resources to council and housing association housing stock. Just six months in, it has already made over 1,000 homes easier to keep cool and warm. This is the devolution gold standard the prime minister needs – transparent and effective power-sharing between national, regional and local governments, in ways that lead to the practical, visible improvement of people’s lives in every postcode.
