On 31 July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled the government’s flagship devolution strategy interestingly branded as “Rewiring the State” and has promised the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster in a generation.
For Midlands businesses used to watching devolution announcements come and go without much changing on the ground, the question is whether this one is different.
What’s on the table
Mayors and new strategic authorities in areas without one get genuine fiscal teeth for the first time. Councils retain business rates locally from 2027, and regions keep a share of local income tax from 2028, rather than relying on Whitehall grants. That secure income stream lets combined authorities borrow against future revenue for major infrastructure, as Greater Manchester already does. Alongside the money comes stronger planning and regeneration power, and significantly for a region built on manufacturing and engineering the ability to design local 16-19 education and skills pathways rather than have curriculum set centrally.
The structural centrepiece, “No.10 North,” relocates large parts of the Prime Minister’s office to Manchester, folded into a new Office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet — Burnham’s framing for coordinating economic strategy between national and local government.
Why this attempt might land differently
Two things set this apart from past devolution white papers that went nowhere. It originates from the Cabinet Office rather than the local government department, sitting closer to the centre of power. And the guiding principle” devolution by default” reverses the usual Whitehall-knows-best starting point.
But the policy paper draws a careful line: this is meant to be “devolution, not delegation,” with mayors holding real decision-making power. That’s already being tested — Tees Valley mayor Lord Ben Houchen wants to use his income tax share for a resident rebate rather than the investment central government prefers, an early sign of how much autonomy Westminster will tolerate once mayors use it in ways it dislikes.
The Midlands angle
For businesses here, the real test is whether devolved skills powers translate into training and apprenticeship pipelines matching regional demand — manufacturing, engineering, construction, logistics — rather than a curriculum designed around London and the South East. There’s a fiscal opportunity too: the government’s separate National Wealth Fund strategy, deploying its remaining £19.4bn by 2030/31 through a Regional Project Accelerator, points the same direction as devolution,with capital and decision-making moving toward the places that can use it. A joined-up Midlands pitch, combining devolved fiscal powers with Wealth Fund backing, is stronger than either lever pulled alone.
Not everyone is convinced. Critics dismiss the No.10 North move as symbolic, and devolution in Scotland and Wales hasn’t been an unambiguous success. Nations outside England have also raised concerns that the strategy is aimed squarely at English regions.
The missing piece: a growth agenda
There’s a risk in reading devolution purely as redistributing power and money more fairly. That’s necessary but not sufficient. Devolving a fixed or shrinking pie more evenly doesn’t create prosperity, it just spreads limited resources further. The backdrop isn’t encouraging EY has cut its UK growth forecast to just 0.9% this year, with a downside scenario as low as 0.5% growth or contraction if Middle East oil disruption persists. Devolved powers arriving into a stagnant economy will struggle to deliver much for anyone.
The government needs to treat wealth creation as being just as important as wealth distribution — the precondition for devolution working, not an afterthought. The National Wealth Fund’s mandate to mobilise £100bn and support 200,000 jobs, and four straight months of manufacturing growth, show the instruments exist. The task is making devolution and growth policy pull in the same direction: mayors need a national growth strategy actively creating jobs and investment, not just a bigger slice of a static economy to argue over.
Where the debate gets tested locally
This is exactly the conversation the 5th Midlands Economic Summit is positioned to have. With both Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, on the platform together, the region gets a rare chance to hold its own devolution and growth debate rather than simply reacting to Westminster and Manchester. Having both mayors in the room matters beyond symbolism: the two combined authorities are still young, and business leaders will want to hear how aligned they are on pressing for genuine devolution — and a growth strategy to match it. Midlands businesses trade and invest across both authorities, so that alignment isn’t academic.
The bottom line
Whether “Rewiring the State” becomes a genuine shift or another announcement that fizzles will be decided by how the Houchen-style tests play out, and by how much fiscal reality backs the rhetoric once the October Budget lands. For Midlands business leaders, the sensible position is engagement, paired with a clear message that devolution only delivers if matched by a serious national growth agenda. The Midlands Economic Summit, with both regional mayors present, is where that message should be delivered first.
By Ninder Johal.
