By international standards, England has a highly centralised political system. But governments over the years have attempted to create new forms of sub-national democracy. The current government is committed to “full devolution across England” so that “every part of our country has the power to shape its own destiny”.
As part of our wider devolution programme, the Institute for Government has a long-standing interest in how political power and resources can best be devolved to the cities, regions and counties of England.
Our current work looks at the potential for devolution to county areas in England. In December 2021, we published a report – How to make a success of county devolution deals – in partnership with the County Councils Network and Grant Thornton, which sets out recommendations for both central and local government. We have also produced an explainer on county deals.
We have also launched a research and events programme on metro mayors. This kicked off with an event with Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands. The project will assess the powers, budgets and profile of metro mayors, and consider whether they are well-placed to help deliver the government’s levelling up and net zero objectives.
We have also produced explainers of devolution to London, the role of police and crime commissioners and how local government works.
This work builds upon past IfG research. In 2019, we convened a private roundtable and published a paper on devolution and productivity, in partnership with Atkins.
In 2016-17, we also co-produced papers on the devolution debate in four English city regions (the north east, east of England, Yorkshire and west of England), as part of the British Academy’s Governing England programme.
Earlier IfG research on this subject includes a 2016 report on making devolution deals work and a 2014 report on achieving political fecentralisation.
