‘In many cases, cities are not in control of their own destiny. In that light, the presence of an elected mayor was a major reason why we chose Bristol as one of our 100 cities.'

So said Michael Berkowitz, The Rockefeller Foundation's Managing Director for 100 Resilient Cities when probed by a Guardian journalist about Bristol's position as one of only five European cities selected in the first wave of the Foundation's new worldwide city resilience network.

An astute comment from a great advocate of cities, but one which reminded me of all the opportunities we're missing by not having the fiscal freedoms to match Bristol's system of leadership.

It's OK though, because the very next day I had the pleasure of attending the launch of ‘Nations and the Wealth of Cities', a new paper written by Greg Clark MP, minister for cities, and Greg Clark, Global Cities Advisor.

At the following debate the minister for cities, for whom I have some real respect and believe to be a strong advocate of our urban centres, said the Government really does ‘sit up and take notice when Bristol speaks.'

Thanks goodness, because we've got something important to say. I thanked him for opening the door via the first round of City Deals and promised that I shall continue to push hard to open it further!

Whilst we recognise that one of the functions of national government is to redistribute the national wealth to parts of the country which are less prosperous, there should be an equal role to back those places which are performing well and creating jobs and growth.

With the appointment of a cities minister, the creation of a cross-Whitehall Cities Unit, and the development of City Deals, national economic policy is making encouraging steps in the right direction when it comes to freeing up our major engines of national growth.

But they're not going far enough, quickly enough.

As part of the Core Cities' ‘City Centred' campaign, Bristol is calling for a firm commitment to greater financial devolution and decentralisation. 

We don't just want that commitment from the Government, but from all political parties as they turn their minds towards their forthcoming manifestos.

This means giving cities the autonomy to make their own decisions and the financial self-sufficiency to allocate funding to address local needs. 

More control over property taxes is the best place to start, providing an income which is at least partially linked to growth and ensures that cities reap the rewards of contributing to the country's economy.

Currently a meagre 5% of our total tax take is retained locally. This money is our return on investment from ensuring the region is an attractive proposition for business. Yet no sooner is this ‘growth dividend' generated, it is siphoned off to Treasury coffers, only to be returned to us in the form of funding programmes that can stifle local innovation and disincentivise further investment in growth.

We've seen the seeds of decentralisation in the City Deal, which is putting £1bn over 25 years in local hands as we borrow against the value of future Business Rate growth. 

For us this will mean faster progress on our Enterprise Zone which is creating a new hub of businesses, leisure pursuits, transport infrastructure and housing at the all-important rail gateway to the city, known as the Temple Quarter. 

It also enables the delivery of a long-awaited 12,000 capacity arena for Bristol, bringing with it a positive economic impact worth around £15m per year to the region.

In other areas the Deal gives us more power over transport, provides for more joined-up management of around 180 public properties worth £1bn and improves our ability to train young people with the skills required to match our local economy – a vital ingredient in growing and retaining young talent.

The City Deal is a good start, but as we develop its second iteration with the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, known as Growth Deals, our partners also have fiscal freedom on their minds. 

Colin Skellett, the Chair of the West of England LEP says: ‘The scale and the ambition of the Local Growth Fund that ultimately emerged from Government following Lord Heseltine's provocation falls far short of the original ambition, and sadly the way that the funding programme is to be centrally administered is more reminiscent of large-scale Government funding programmes of the past than it is of a new era of self-determining city-regions.'

‘We know that national politicians of all parties are united by a desire to go much further and we understand many of the institutional barriers that stand in the way.