Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has called for more power and funding to be placed in the hands of Scotland’s regions. He says local communities should have greater control over decisions affecting jobs and economic growth.
Marra renewed his call after a report in The Scotsman drew a comparison between Scotland’s economic growth and Greater Manchester’s. The report’s headline suggested Scotland’s economy would be £33 billion larger had it matched Manchester’s performance.
“A new generation of devolution deals can be the key to delivering the growth Scotland needs,” Marra wrote. “Let’s put power and control into the hands of Scotland’s communities.”
The £33 billion figure is a comparison with a hypothetical outcome. It does not establish how much additional growth devolution deals would produce, or show that the difference was caused by where powers are held. Research published by the Scottish Parliament says Scotland’s economy has performed broadly similarly to the UK’s since devolution, while cautioning that many factors beyond either government’s control affect the results.
Power beyond Holyrood
Marra, who became Scottish Labour leader earlier this month, set out the argument in Holyrood on Tuesday. He said the Scottish Parliament held too much “power, money and control” at the expense of communities and called for deals that would move decision-making into Scotland’s regions.
That puts a practical question at the centre of his proposal: which decisions should regional bodies make, and what budgets should follow them? Greater Manchester’s devolution arrangements cover areas including transport, skills and economic development. Its later agreements with the UK Government proposed further powers and a simpler funding settlement. Scotland’s system of government is different, so an equivalent deal would require its own agreement on responsibilities and accountability.
Marra’s call comes as both governments are already pursuing forms of regional growth policy. The Scottish Government’s September programme for government proposed strengthening regions and empowering communities. That gives Marra’s argument a clear point of comparison: whether the government’s plans will transfer enough authority and resources to make local decisions meaningful.
Funding already reaching regions
The UK Government has meanwhile released £52.1 million to five Scottish regional partnerships as the first part of a £140 million Local Growth Fund covering three financial years. The partnerships have drawn up plans for investment in infrastructure, business space and skills.
Those funds give local leaders a role in choosing projects, but Marra is calling for a broader transfer of power. The next test of his proposal will be the detail: the powers he wants regions to hold, the money available to exercise them and how local people would hold decision-makers to account.
