East Midlands Mayor says Burnham premiership could be 'good for us'
Claire Ward welcomes Andy Burnham's focus on devolution and regional growth
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has hinted that Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister would be good for the East Midlands – and better for the region than Keir Starmer.
Mr Burnham is widely expected to move into 10 Downing Street in the next few weeks after the outgoing PM announced his resignation on June 22.
And, in his previous role as the mayor of Great Manchester, the prospective PM worked closely with Ms Ward, including on a scheme to provide free bus passes to Manchester and Stockport for teenagers living in rural areas in north Derbyshire.
Former MP Ms Ward was asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) what a Burnham administration would mean for the East Midlands, compared to his predecessor.
She said: “If you listen to what Andy said last week, he talked about the importance of devolution, about making decisions closer to local people, closer to communities and he talked about getting people out of London and the south east and getting a bit more of a focus on the regions.
“And I welcome all of that, because I think that’s what we need in the East Midlands. And if that’s what we’re going to see that will be good for us.”
One of Keir Starmer’s last defining acts was the announcement of a £15b increase in defence spending on June 30 – part funded by the planned scrapping of two transport projects in the East Midlands, on the A38 in Derby and the A46 in Nottinghamshire.
Ms Ward publicly expressed her anger at the situation – particularly, the fact that she wasn’t consulted on the proposals, despite the whole point in the Mayoral role’s existence being so that she can make decisions for her region.
She vowed to fight against the decision and has set in motion plans to form a cross-party coalition of council leaders in the East Midlands to argue the case in Westminster.
Asked if she was in favour of the change at the top of government, she told the LDRS: “I’m in favour of devolution, and I think Andy will bring a perspective to it that understands how devolution can work.
“The experience he’s had in Manchester, the things that he’s done there, he’s demonstrated already, that, by focusing on place, you can get a growing economy, you can get a good transport system, you can start to focus on the skills that you need.
“Those are the things that I want to see. And I don’t think at the moment, what’s happening is good enough, and I think we would do a better job if it was controlled locally.”
Among responsibilities that are touted to be given to Mayors in the future is funding for developing the skills of 16-18 year olds.
Currently, central government still deals with that pot of money, while Mayors are in charge of the Adult Skills Fund – money to use for the training of anyone over the age of 19.
The Mayor said: “I want to be able to shape 16 onwards, so we can shape them, knowing the jobs that are going to be created in the sectors that are important for the East Midlands like advanced manufacturing or clean energy. So why shouldn’t we help with the career pathways of 16 year olds?
“That’s where we should be involved, to align the jobs opportunities with the skills that are needed – to work with our businesses to make sure that our young people are being taught what they need to get into those new jobs.”