Letter on devolved powers for England
The letter below, signed by civic leaders across England including the city council’s Leader, Sir Albert Bore, has been published on The Times website today (27 November 2014).
What is good enough for Scotland ….
We leaders and supporters of local government in England of all parties and types of local government congratulate Scotland on the measure of devolution they have worked for and that is now proposed by the Smith Commission.
We call upon central Government and party leaders to recognise that local government should be the vehicle for devolution in England and to now negotiate with us using a similar non-party Commission to agree a comparable package of measures for local government in England which can appear in the Manifestos and be enacted after the General Election,
Yours,
Sir Richard Leese, Leader Manchester City Council
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
Jim O’Neill, Author RSA Cities Report
George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol
Cllr David Hodge, Chair County Councils Network
Graham Allen MP, Chair of Parliament’s Political and Constitutional Reform Select
Cllr Dave Sparks, Chair of the Local Government Association
Cllr Ken Browse, Chairman, National Association of Local Councils
Cllr Marianne Overton, Leader LGA Independent Group
Cllr Neil Clarke, Chairman of the District Councils Network
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Leader Lib Dem group LGA
Cllr Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council
Clive Betts MP, Chair of Parliament’s Local Government Committee
Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader Newcastle City Council
Cllr Sir Albert Bore, Leader Birmingham City Council
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool
Cllr Jon Collins, Leader Nottingham City Council
Cllr Ruth Dombey, Vice Chair London Councils
Cllr Keith Wakefield, Leader Leeds City Council
Jules Pipe, Chair London Boroughs Association
And many others
