Jim McMahon MP has welcomed Labour’s plans to transfer power away from Whitehall and give local leaders a greater role in shaping economic growth and public services.
The Labour and Co-operative MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton visited No.10 North in Manchester as work continues on the government’s next phase of devolution.
McMahon said:
“It was great to join colleagues in No.10 North this week as we work on the next stages of devolution.
“For those who have long believed the centralised and disconnected stronghold in Whitehall and Westminster has held our regions back, it’s a hugely exciting time.”
No.10 North was established by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to place towns, cities and regions at the centre of national decision-making and rebalance political and economic power away from London.
The Manchester base will help coordinate the government’s work with mayors, combined authorities and councils, ensuring that regional priorities influence decisions on investment, transport, housing, skills and public services.
Burnham has described the new institution as a “situation room” for driving growth and removing the barriers that prevent local leaders from delivering for their communities.
The government recently announced that high-performing civil servants will be seconded from Whitehall departments into mayoral authorities from this autumn.
The move represents the largest transfer of Whitehall capacity to local leaders yet and will give mayors additional expertise to develop projects, attract investment and improve services.
New leadership, data and talent programmes will also help strengthen mayoral authorities and support the transfer of further responsibilities from central government.
The package was developed in response to requests made by mayors during the first meeting of the revived National Economic Council. Local leaders called for faster decisions, stronger local capacity and a more constructive partnership with the government.
Ministers are also developing plans to give local leaders greater control over funding and tax revenues while expanding their powers to promote growth and coordinate services.
McMahon has long argued that England is one of the most centralised countries in the developed world and that communities work best when decisions are made closer to the people affected by them.
His support for No.10 North reflects growing optimism across Labour that the Burnham government is prepared to deliver a genuine shift in the way Britain is governed.
For too long, towns and regions have been expected to compete for fragmented funding pots while important decisions were taken by officials with limited knowledge of local circumstances.
Labour’s approach offers an alternative based on partnership, stable funding and trust in local leadership.
The aim is not simply to move government jobs out of London, but to change where decisions are made and whose experience shapes national policy.
By bringing central government, mayors and local authorities together, No.10 North can help ensure that investment reaches every part of the country and that public services respond more effectively to local needs.
McMahon’s intervention underlines the scale of Labour’s ambition: to replace an overly centralised system with one that gives communities the power, resources and responsibility to shape their own futures.
The wider measures are confirmed in the government’s No.10 North devolution announcement and Rewiring the State statement.
