UK Budget's Devolution Push: Who Gets Left Out of the Growth Plan
The chancellor promised the biggest devolution wave in a generation, but critics note large parts of England remain excluded from new spending powers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled what the government is billing as the most sweeping devolution package in a generation, with plans to extend mayoral powers across England and pursue fresh deals with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and potentially Northern Ireland. The ambition, partly driven by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, is to have dozens of newly empowered regional mayors spending billions of pounds within two years.
The scale of the announcement positions Prime Minister Keir Starmer to claim before the next general election that his government has fundamentally rewired Britain's political structure, shifting meaningful budget authority away from Westminster and toward local leaders. Negotiations are already under way or anticipated with administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast to extend the reach of that decentralization beyond England's borders.
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Yet the pledge to deliver growth in every postcode faces a structural challenge: large swathes of England are currently excluded from the new devolution framework. Areas without elected mayors or established combined authorities risk being bypassed entirely, potentially deepening rather than narrowing regional economic disparities that have long defined the country's uneven development.
Analysts note that the pace of delivery will depend heavily on how quickly local governance structures can be stood up in areas that lack them, and whether central government is willing to transfer genuinely consequential fiscal levers rather than symbolic administrative ones. The political test will come at the ballot box, where voters in overlooked communities will measure promises against tangible change.
Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
