Boris Johnson calls for more devolution in England

Boris Johnson has called for greater devolution across England, as a means of “levelling up” the whole of the UK.

In a speech in Coventry, the Prime Minister called for cities and towns to make the first move. He said they should come to Downing Street with their “vision about how you will level up.”

The Tory leader said that while this may mean more mayors for English cities, it could also mean more powers over the economy and transport being devolved to local authorities. 

England was, he said, one of the most centralised countries in Europe, with parts of the country neglected while London prospered. 

“If the big cities are beginning to catch up, it’s the rest of the country, those historic, famous towns, or our shires, where local leaders now need to be given the tools to make things happen for their communities,” Johnson said. “We need to rewrite the rule book.”

He also said the levelling up agenda would not make the "rich parts" of the UK poorer. 

"We don't want to decapitate the tall poppies. We don't think you can make the poor parts of the country richer by making the rich parts poorer," he said.

Johnson added that that levelling up should not be seen as “a jam-spreading operation.” 

“It's not robbing Peter to pay Paul. It's not zero-sum. It's win-win," he insisted.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader said there was little in the Prime Minister’s plan: "Boris Johnson has overseen the worst death toll in Europe and the greatest hit to any major economy.

"Two years as prime minister and all we have is this empty husk of a speech that shows he has no plan for the future of our country other than pitching people and towns against each other."

She added: "He has no jobs promise for young people and he has no recovery plan for our children."

The SNP said Johnson was guilty of empty rhetoric.

The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: "You can't level up by making millions of people poorer - but that is exactly what will happen as a result of Tory plans to impose a public sector pay freeze and slash Universal Credit by £1040 for six million families.”

He added: "The UK has had the worst levels of poverty and inequality of any country in north west Europe under every Tory and Labour government over the past twenty years. Only independence can protect Scotland from Westminster and give Scotland the powers required for a fair society."