Britain is one of the most centralised countries in the world. It’s no surprise then that we have the most geographically unequal economy in Europe.
This concentration of power, investment and opportunity is the root cause of why too many of our towns and villages have been written off by their government altogether. The message to young people in those places is if you want to get on, you have to get out.
In this system, even the winners are losing. London has the highest disposable income in the country, but once housing costs are taken into account people are worse off than in most other parts of the UK. This is what happens when you undercook most parts of the country; you overheat the rest, and everybody loses. Fixing this is the challenge of our time and the key to getting our economy firing on all cylinders. We must rise to this moment.
We have dealt with challenges on this scale before. After 1945, the Government stepped forward to build decent, secure public housing, founded the NHS and rebuilt from the ashes of war. This time we face the twin challenges of building a country that fires on all cylinders, in which all of us have a stake and a contribution, and the climate emergency which is shaking the ground beneath our feet.
Neither of these challenges can be solved from the centre. It will take a nation, using all our assets, and the creativity and capacity of our people in every region of the UK.
We need to smash up a century of centralisation and see a fundamental tilting of the balance of power back in favour of people who have a stake in the outcome.
It is the only way to tackle climate change, to reshape places and to see the potential in communities, not just the problems. It is the only way to convince the nation that everybody has a role to play, and we must play it to build an economy that works and a society that can function.
Labour understands that local governance arrangements must reflect economic geography, transport, income levels and identity, if they are to work. We will not dictate them from Whitehall but will work with communities and councils to ensure they have the tools needed to design a local growth plan that works.
Whether it’s advanced manufacturing in Rotherham, culture in Halifax or wind in Grimsby, local communities know best what assets exist and how best to harness them.
To deliver it, our promise is that a menu of powers will be on offer to all, not just some. Control over buses so that they connect people to apprenticeships and jobs, friends and family. Powers to raise money, such as a tourist levy like the one being pioneered by Manchester City Council. The capital investment to build housing, and clean energy schemes that generate revenue.
However, these challenges will not be solved without the best asset we have – people. That means a different sort of leadership is needed. One that partners with the community and puts people in the driving seat, because these are our places and we know small changes can have big outcomes.
These are the people who invest and create, so we need to back them by taking on those who only ever extract from the thriving places we are trying to build. We will close loopholes that allow landlords to buy up houses in places in which they’ve never set foot, and house vulnerable people in sub-standard housing so they can claim inflated rates of housing benefit while the whole community goes to rack and ruin.
We’ll open up the land registry because people have the right to know who owns their town, village or city. We’ll end the system that allows foreign investors to buy up shopping centres, historic buildings and town centres and let them fall apart knowing eventually the council will have to buy them back under CPO powers at a premium.
We will do all of this, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the only thing to do. To smash up centralisation, create a genuine partnership between central government, local councils and communities, and restore power to people who can use it to rebuild the parks, libraries, high streets and youth clubs that make up the social fabric of a place.
We need to turn upside down the democratic settlement of the last century so we can rise to the challenge of our age and rebuild this country from the ground up the only way that counts – together.
Lisa Nandy is shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing, communities and local government
@lisanandy
