Labour leadership frontrunner Andy Burnham has promised to devolve more powers to communities across Scotland, arguing that economic growth must be driven from the bottom up rather than directed from Westminster.
Writing in The Scotsman after a major speech yesterday, Mr Burnham said he would bring to Scotland the approach he adopted as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
He said: “I know it can be done because we have done it in Greater Manchester. When I started as Mayor in 2017, we set about building a new politics based on the exact opposite of the Westminster approach: place first, not party first; problem-solving, not scoring; long-term, not short-term.”
Mr Burnham added: “That is the approach I would bring to Scotland.”
Setting out his vision, he argued: “It means starting with the life people are actually living. Not the argument Westminster wants to have. Not a map in Whitehall. Not an economy ordered from the top down. Growth cannot be ordered from the top down. It can only be nurtured from the bottom up.”
He said Scotland's future growth should be built around key industries, adding: “In Scotland, that means backing energy, shipbuilding, manufacturing and public services. It means giving local leaders the power and resources to connect communities, back young people and revive high streets. It means seeing the positives in Edinburgh, Inverness, Fife and North Ayrshire, not writing places off or treating them as an afterthought.”
Mr Burnham also highlighted the economic opportunities in the energy transition, saying: “In Scotland, the opportunity is renewables. It is hydrogen and carbon capture. It is shipbuilding, food and drink and advanced manufacturing. The task now is to ensure that the jobs, skills, apprenticeships, and wealth that come from that future are rooted in the communities that help create it.”
He made no mention of the opportunities in oil and gas, where companies stand ready to invest £17.5billion between now and 2030 if the Energy Profits Levy is removed.
Responding to Mr Burnham's wider devolution agenda, British Chambers of Commerce Director General Shevaun Haviland said businesses would judge the proposals on whether they deliver growth.
She said: “Firms need consistency, clarity and stability from policymakers, if business confidence is to be improved. Businesses will judge Andy Burnham’s plans on whether they deliver the boost to investment, productivity and trade desperately needed to unlock growth.”
Ms Haviland added: “It’s crucial that the devolution agenda has local business at its heart and brings benefits to all parts of the UK. Our Chamber network completely understands how national ambition can be translated into local economic growth. We’ve long argued that more decisions affecting local economies, including transport, skills and infrastructure, should be taken closer to the communities they serve.”
She concluded: “The difficult truth is, whoever leads the UK, the primary challenge remains the same - delivering growth. Business stands ready to work in partnership with any new Prime Minister to focus on that crucial task.”