Leveling up minister Michael Gove has promised to use the “spirit” of Thatcherism to help the north of England, with Labor vowing to go much further in delegating power from London.
Mr Gove cited Margaret Thatcher’s “active” government and its transformation of London’s port areas in the 1980s as inspiration for leveling up – a plan to reduce economic and social inequalities between North and South.
The Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities was speaking at the Northern Convention, a large gathering of political and business leaders in Manchester.
Other guests include Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City District, and Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of North of Tyne.
Labor’s Shadow Balancing Minister Lisa Nandy told Congress that the UK was in “national discomfort” and that its political system was “broken” and had to “change or die”.
With local authorities deciding, not Whitehall’s, how government money is spent, he promised a significant devolution under the Labor Party – Town Halls has powers over housing, transportation, energy, childcare, skills, employment support and education.
Earlier, in a sweeping 40-minute speech, Mr. Gove summed up the Government’s Upgrade agenda, describing London as an “invaluable asset” of the economy, while speaking of the “permanent and entrenched geographic and social divide”.
Ms. Thatcher’s administration in the 1980s, a decade of coal mine closures and industrial strife in the North, cited as a model for leveling elements.
“And the experience of successful economic transformation shows that growth is assured in active government, not in the absence of government.
“A government that plays a strategic role, irrigating the land to grow, especially in the Docklands, as Mrs. Thatcher did.
“When the Thatcher government took office in 1979, London’s shipyards were a derelict economic desert.
“The original vision for the regeneration of the area from the Department of the Treasury at the time was simple: just reduce and deregulate taxes and thousands will bloom on the dusty and polluted soils of the shipyards.”
But she said Ms Thatcher helped establish deeper government intervention through the London Docklands Development Corporation, bringing jobs and housing and transforming this area of the capital.
“The state created the environment, the private sector created employment. London Docklands is an economic success story today.
“One of the most significant achievements we owe to Ms. Thatcher’s government, and it is this spirit that gives life to our level-up policies: active government.”
Mr Gove said he would like to see devolution powers deepen and spread to other areas.
Ms Nandy said Labor would continue devolution “anywhere” and denounced the council’s current “begging bowl” approach to offering cash from central government.
“It’s a Hunger Games-style system where ministers choose from behind a desk in Whitehall who gets the entertainment center, some picnic areas, and traffic light improvements.
“We can’t go on like this. Time’s up. We’re going to do things differently.”