Sir Keir Starmer has promised to hold regular meetings with England’s mayors saying he believes that “those with skin in the game… make much better decisions than people sitting in Westminster”.
The prime minister and his deputy, Angela Rayner, used their fifth day in government to meet the 12 regional mayors to discuss “a major programme of devolution”.
Ms Rayner, who is also communities secretary, said “for too long” Westminster had “tightly gripped control” and “held back opportunities for towns, cities and villages across the UK”.
She said the Downing Street meeting was aimed at “shifting power out of Westminster” towards the regions.
The PM told regional leaders they were “absolutely central” to economic growth “across the country”.
Labour has made growing the economy one of its five “missions” for government.
As part of this, it says local leaders will be required to draw up local growth plans, which “identify growth sectors and the infrastructure they need to thrive”.
The meeting was the first time all the mayors had gathered in Downing Street.
Twelve areas of England, including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Tees Valley, have devolution deals giving powers over areas such as transport, housing and employment.
Tees Valley’s Conservative mayor Ben Houchen, who was re-elected for a third consecutive term in May, is currently the only metro mayor who is not a Labour politician.
He had a 15-minute private conversation with the PM before the meeting with the other mayors began.
Speaking afterwards, he said they both agreed on the need to work together regardless of party politics.
Jim McMahon, communities minister, told BBC Breakfast that access to funds had previously been “fragmented”, but local authorities would now be able to use “a single pot of money that trusts our metro mayors to get on to do the job they’ve been elected to do”.
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, said Tuesday’s meeting “marked a welcome step change in the relationship between mayors and government”.
A new council for regions and nations was announced during the meeting – which Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said was “music to my ears”.
Speaking to the BBC News Channel, he said the council was a “very welcome change” and would ensure areas of the country have their voices heard at Whitehall.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told PA news agency that the PM also discussed “other parts of the country where there could be mayors”.
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard pulled out of Tuesday’s meeting after testing positive for Covid but outlined his priorities in a letter to the PM.
“A child or young person in South Yorkshire today has every right to expect their future to be brighter than that of their parents; to grow up in a community that not only respects but matches their ambition,” he wrote.
Devolution deals were expanded under the Conservatives, who formed new combined authorities made up of several council areas and chaired by metro mayors.
This also formed part of the ‘levelling-up’ strategy, which aimed to reduce inequality between different parts of the country.
Powers were already set to be devolved to more areas in 2025, including Suffolk, Norfolk and Greater Lincolnshire.
Ms Rayner said the new government is focused on “a full reset of our relationship with local government”.
As Tuesday’s meeting got under way, the government announced that it was ditching the term ‘levelling up’.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was given that name by Boris Johnson in 2021 as the then-prime minister sought to highlight his commitment to the ‘levelling up’ agenda.
But the department is reverting to its identity as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – led by Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and secretary of state for the department.