Devolution – or devo-maxxing – was the order of the day in Andy Burnham’s most significant speech yet on how he would govern.
But devolution is a tune plenty of leaders have played before. Tony Blair turbo-charged it after 1997, George Osborne promised a Northern Powerhouse, and Boris Johnson made plenty of noise about levelling up. Still, Britain remains top-heavy, with power and wealth concentrated in London. The UK also sends a far greater share of tax revenue to central government than almost all other major economies.
So is now the right time to devo-maxx? And is Burnham the right man to do it?
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