Devolution: The case for a North-East mayor

I AM increasingly optimistic that our local political leaders here in the North-East will grasp the once in a lifetime opportunity for devolution and regeneration that has been offered to our region by George Osborne.

Why? Because they realise that it offers the North-East a chance to win control over budgets that are currently controlled in London and if we don’t we risk being left behind by those regions that have realised the power of the offer that is on the table.

That offer, to transfer powers and responsibilities for infrastructure, skills, transport and business support to local decision makers, is conditional on our acceptance of a directly elected mayor to provide leadership, accountability, and capacity.

Mr Osborne and many others believe our local authorities operating in competitive silos are incapable of offering these things and I support the need for such a post to support our regional ambitions.

We are some way behind other regions, with Manchester having already taken the bull by the horns and secured new resources. Yorkshire’s major cities are also racing ahead, having accepted the principal of directly elected mayors.

I congratulate the North-East leaders of our local authorities who have now made it clear that they are willing to discuss all options and enter the race to secure new powers. Time is short but the North East Combined Authority has invited suggestions on what powers should be sought. The Chancellor has asked for an initial submission by 4 September so we can’t afford to prevaricate.

I have heard no serious argument against the benefits of the power and money that are already spent in the North-East being put to better use as a result of local decision making.

Let me be constructive and outline the arguments in favour of a mayor.

First, it offers more effective leadership and a more effective voice that will bring a sense of urgency to the reforms we all know are needed here in the North-East. We need leadership that can negotiate with Scotland and with Westminster to ensure that we aren't side-lined economically as a result of increased powers over tax and spending North of the Border. A directly elected leader with a clear manifesto can deliver that leadership. A North East Combined Authority, which, incidentally, the public didn’t get to vote for or against, may have many virtues but, in my book, it is not accountable, transparent or democratic.

Second, it could give us a better chance of fairness in the North-East. Despite being a less wealthy part of the country, we receive less public spending per head than Scotland and we lose out on spending on transport, the arts and more to London. This has been the case under both Conservative and Labour governments and a mayor would have the job of winning us a fair deal that our local political set-up has thus far failed to secure.

Third, it offers the best opportunity for more and better jobs. My colleagues on the board of the North East LEP and their counterparts in the Tees Valley have done a good job in securing infrastructure investment and business support cash, following the North East Economic Review, led by Lord Adonis. However, as public and private partnerships, these organisations lack an element of muscle needed to take this to the next stage and boost such areas as schools’ performance, marketing the region and driving inward investment. A mayor for the North East LEP area can bring cohesion to a system that has seven local authorities replicating roles and driving their own agendas.

Depending upon what sort of mayor we ask for – and elect – the post could deliver better leadership for the North-East, win us a better settlement from Government and deliver more and better jobs. We have many choices here, so long as we make that first decision to have a mayor. Let’s agree to this modest change in political structure and take responsibility for powers currently in the hands of Whitehall.

I believe that now the debate should turn from whether we want devolution and a directly elected mayor to what sort of system of governance and capacity should come with it. There have been interesting suggestions that to make sure the new mayor is accountable and subject to proper scrutiny there need to be a proper system of governance in place. This is right but I would go further. To really deliver for the North-East we need to realign all the bodies that are tasked with driving economic growth in the North-East. A directly elected mayor needs to work in harmony with and provide leadership to the Local Enterprise Partnership and the economic development departments of all the local authorities as well. If the mayoralty can bring these bodies together to work as one the North-East really will have a delivery vehicle which is most likely to win us the best possible deal and provide us with a credible way to drive our economy and a system of governance that works.

Surely that is what we need.

Jeremy Middleton is founder of Middleton Enterprises, a £50m investment company based on Tyneside. He is also a board member of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.