The Queen's Speech last week confirmed that the devolution bandwagon in England is rolling and that city-focused combined authorities will be at its core with mayoral models.

However the focus on the constitutional aspects of devolution obscures the fact that boosting England's local economies is one of the Government's prime aims and that core cities are not the only vehicle for achieving it; key cities, counties and London boroughs are also lobbying hard for devolved powers arguing that if anything, their impact on jobs and growth is even greater. In addition bringing in new business can enhance a council's bottom line through increases business rate revenue. Devolution therefore is inextricably bound up with local economic growth.