FROM THE MAG: The Lancashire Business View

Devolution. It’s a subject we have never shied away from and one that we return to once again in the pages of this edition.

In our look at the impact that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to have on the nation’s economic development it is clear that the former mayor of Greater Manchester believes devolution will be a major tool in his work to boost productivity.

He’s looking to put more decision making – and money – in the hands of directly elected mayors up and down the country. That can only be good news for the North West of England.

The trouble for Lancashire is that we don’t have a mayor. And while other parts of England push to ride the devolution train for all its worth, as a frustrated Mo Isap declares in our interview with him on page eight of Lancashire Business View issue 130, our county stands on the platform, ticket in hand, seemingly reluctant to make the trip.

Mo, the chair of the Lancashire Business Board, part of the non mayoral Combined County Authority, has done the maths and believes the county is losing an estimated £1.4m a day in devolution funding as a result. He describes that as “catastrophic”.

It really is, and so is the doom loop that Lancashire seems to have been caught in for at least a decade, a seemingly never-ending debate among our political leaders when it comes to an elected mayor that might have got us reluctantly to the platform but in growing danger of missing that train.

Why is that a danger? Simply because the direction of travel strongly suggests it will be the mayoral authorities that will be at the front of the queue when it comes to money for transport improvement, skills innovation, unlocking growth and supporting businesses. The mayors will be those who will have the access to Whitehall and Number 10 North, those leaders that the PM believes are a ‘better bet’.

Phil Riley, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, one of the three current unitary local authorities on the non mayoral Lancashire Combined County Authority, is among those urging action to prevent this happening.

His message to his fellow political leaders, shared in our Hotspots feature, is both loud and clear: “It is time for us to show our pride in Lancashire, end the debate and to take the power. Surely it is far better to have the power and then debate, than letting this opportunity pass because we couldn’t agree.”

There’s another D-word that is increasingly part of the conversation as we look to see what direction Andy Burnham will take us: defence.

The new incumbent in Number 10 looks to be aiming to centre his defence investment plans on reindustrialising the UK.

Lancashire should be perfectly placed to take advantage of this and to push for inward investment, with a focus on building on the massive skills and know-how we have amassed over decades.

The fear is, with rival parts of the country having mayors given the power and funding to pump money into inward investment initiatives, we may miss out on the major prizes as businesses are tempted elsewhere.

Mo Isap points to the benefits that areas such as South Yorkshire are currently reaping – including a £2m grant the mayoral authority has given Rolls-Royce to unlock a £19m investment by the aero engine giant in advanced manufacturing.

He declares: “Lancashire is built on innovation and industry; the reality is that today we are in a state of inertia, and that’s a dangerous place to be.”

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