Angela Rayner has launched her pitch to lead Andy Burnham’s devolution revolution, arguing we “need to change politics” and “give people back control so we can fix the economy”.
In her first major speech since Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation, Labour’s former deputy leader – who is expected to return to government when Andy Burnham takes over as prime minister – argued that “too many decisions affecting the many are made by too few”, accusing “Whitehall empires” of “hoarding their own power”.
Setting out her backing for a “devolution revolution”, just two days after Mr Burnham set out his vision for a decade-long plan to transform Britain, Ms Rayner warned the government against “tinkering around the edges of the system”, saying governments of the past have “too often been afraid” of major structural change to the state.
Warning that the “economy doesn’t work for ordinary people because we have been on the wrong path for far too long”, she said in a speech to the New Economics Foundation: “The answer is devolution: real devolution, not the begging-bowl culture of the past, where regional politicians came to Whitehall with their caps in hand, asking permission to run their own bus routes.
“Devolution means making someone genuinely accountable for getting things done in a place, so the buck cannot be passed any more.”
Echoing the language used by Mr Burnham earlier this week, Ms Rayner – who resigned from government over her tax affairs last year – said: “We cannot build a new economy here without addressing one of the root causes of the old one’s failure.
“We are one of the most over-centralised countries in the developed world. Too many decisions affecting the many are made by too few.”
Ms Rayner also talked up her own credentials in spearheading the Devolution Act, an Act which passed in April and transfers powers away from central government in Westminster to local authorities, regions, and communities across England.
“There was institutional resistance to fiscal devolution throughout my time in office. But we have shown it can be overcome”, she said.
“The Devolution Act gives all mayors London-style planning powers – a new framework that can be expanded and built upon…The Act is the beginning, not the end, of breaking away from the command and control culture of Whitehall that has held us back for too long.
She added: “The devolution revolution has hit the ground running. But it will only reach its full potential if central government changes too, with No. 10 driving it as a core mission; and local government supported as the foundation on which devolution is built.
“This needs a much deeper cultural change across Whitehall – and the scale of that challenge can’t be underestimated.”
Ms Rayner is an ally of Mr Burnham’s, having criticised Sir Keir for initially blocking his return to Westminster at the Gorton and Denton by-election last year.
While she was previously seen as a potential leadership candidate herself, she has been firmly on the sidelines in recent weeks, sparking questions over whether she would be given a cabinet role in a new Labour government. But her latest intervention suggests she has her sights set on a role in Mr Burnham’s radical plan for devolution.
On Monday, the Makerfield MP and prime-minister-in-waiting said he will lead a decade-long plan to transform Britain by transferring power out of Whitehall and giving regions the ability to control essential utilities, transport and housing.
The prospective prime minister promised to set a “new direction” for the UK, with an outpost of 10 Downing Street based in Manchester to drive his plans to rewire the British state.
The Makerfield MP, who could become prime minister on July 20 if he is the only contender to replace Sir Keir as Labour leader, said they Westminster system was “broken” and “as a result, the country isn’t where it should be”.
“It is stuck in a rut, and clearly we can’t go on like this,” he said, adding: “We are one of the most over-centralised countries in the world – and, worse, that over-centralised heart of the country is not pulling the same way but in different directions.”
