Andy Burnham is drawing up plans to give England’s regional mayors the power to raise and retain their own taxes in what would be the most significant transfer of fiscal control away from Westminster in decades, according to allies.
The i Paper understands that the former Manchester Mayor has told friends that one of the first taxes he wants to give mayors the power to set and control in their areas is business rates, if he becomes Prime Minister as is widely expected.
The move would allow regional mayors to raise their own revenue and spend it as they see fit, rather than entirely depend on grants handed down by the Treasury.
Shorts
The thinking is part of a wider devolution agenda taking shape as the runaway favourite to succeed Sir Keir Starmer prepares to deliver a set-piece speech on the economy and devolution next week, his first major intervention since returning to Parliament.
