The shadow leveling minister is expected to say the way the country is run “must change” or Britain’s future may be at risk.
In a speech at the Northern Convention on Wednesday, Lisa Nandy will outline the Labor Party’s proposal to “unlock the power of all people across Britain” by handing over control of Westminster to local communities.
It will accuse Conservatives of “deleting” areas that once fueled the UK economy and failing to meet the 2019 manifesto commitment to create opportunities outside of London and the south east of England.
Ms Nandy is expected to say in Manchester: “In the towns, villages and cities that were once England’s engines, greed is everywhere, for too long and gone from our national story.
“In the 15 years since the global collapse, the failure to manage such an economy is clear.
“But whenever the public sounded the alarm, hit our politicians with tsunami after tsunami of discontent, our creaking political system did nothing.
“This is the common task facing our generation of political leaders: responding to that siren call or face obsolete. Change or die.”
The shadow cabinet member will urge local leaders to tell Labor what powers they need to drive growth in their districts, as part of what Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer calls the Take Back Control Act.
Ms Nandy said the law, described as the centerpiece of the first King’s Speech under a new Labor rule, “will empower our communities to take control of their own economic futures”.
The Wigan MP will tell the conference that if his party wins the next general election, it will honor its commitment to devolve powers in a wide range of policy areas, including housing, energy, childcare, buses, trains, skills, education. and employment.
Party officials said Ms Nandy would describe the current financing model for local government as “ridiculous” and “undemocratic”, and that the system would be replaced by “significantly broadening economic devolution in the UK” during a Starmer premiership.
Pledging to “end a century of centralisation”, Ms. Nandy will promise to “cook” that commitment “in our first two terms of government”.
Ms Nandy will say: “Unleashing the power of all people across Britain is no longer a ‘better-happen’, local or regional issue – it is central to whether this country has a future.”
Less than two years before the election, Sir Keir’s party is nearly 20 points ahead of Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in most opinion polls, while the Labor Party is currently at the forefront of leading the next UK government.
Leveling Secretary Michael Gove is also scheduled to speak at the same event on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Department of Leveling, Housing and Communities said: “We have overseen the largest transfer of power from Whitehall to local leaders in the UK in modern times.
“This includes six key devolution agreements, such as the North East and York and North Yorkshire, which have unlocked more than £4.5 billion of new investment for seven million people.
“More than 50% of the UK will now be covered by a devolution agreement, meaning they will have more say in the local issues that affect them, such as housing and skills.”