Call for West Midlands to gain from devolution

The West Midlands must not be overlooked as the government rolls out its devolution plans, an MP has warned.

The discussion follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham's decision to establish No 10 North in Manchester as part of plans to move decision-making away from Westminster and hand more powers to regions.

Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti said there was a risk from the move that attention could become too focused on Greater Manchester at the expense of areas such as the West Midlands.

But Labour peer Lord Falconer defended the government's approach, saying Burnham's commitment to devolution was intended to benefit the whole country rather than a single city.

Bhatti said the West Midlands played a vital role in the UK's economy, highlighting employers including Coventry-based Jaguar Land Rover, and argued the West Midlands should receive the recognition and powers needed to match its economic contribution.

"We've had a really good run as the West Midlands, as being a really confident, powerful region of the country, and we are absolutely important when it comes to the economic growth of this country," the MP for Meriden and Solihull East said.

"Last year, Jaguar Land Rover had a torrid year, and look what happened to the economic stats of the country.

"[The] West Midlands is bigger than just one party.

"It's bigger than any partisanship...all of us will have to come together and make noise, we need to be represented at the national level."

Lord Falconer said the prime minister wanted places outside of London to play a much greater role in national politics and argued that devolution should continue to be expanded.

He suggested power should be spread more widely across the UK.

"People are absolutely fed up with our national story being all about London," he said.

"Don't look at it as if it's Manchester instead of Birmingham, look at it on the basis places outside London are at last going to start playing their part in the national story.

"He is about the whole of the United Kingdom."

The exchange on Radio 4's Any Questions reflected differing views among the panel over whether the government's early focus on Manchester could leave other regions behind, despite broad agreement that decision-making should become less centralised.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has described No 10 North as a "gimmick", adding it "does not make decision-making any better, it's just creating another branch of the civil service in a different place".

But Burnham said the office would get "growth in every corner of the country".

He is expected to work from No 10 North every week.

Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller said the office must be "more than just a convenient Friday working from home base for him and other Manchester MPs", reminding Burnham that most MPs return to their constituencies on Fridays.

The West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker also sought to reassure residents that the region stood to benefit from the government's plans.

Parker dismissed concerns over the location of the new base, saying its purpose was to accelerate devolution across England.

"I think people have got overly concerned about No 10 North," he said.

"The purpose of that is to drive devolution through the regions and we're in a great place to benefit from that."

Parker said he would work with the prime minister to secure more powers for the West Midlands, including greater control over locally raised revenue to invest in transport, housing, skills and businesses.

He added that the case for further devolution would continue to be made on behalf of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

"We now need to move at pace to deliver that agenda, not just to raise prosperity for the country but also to deliver that aspiration and prosperity for people in Birmingham and the West Midlands too," Parker added.

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