Localis response to General Election 2019

Localis chief executive, Jonathan Werran, said: “It appears that we have witnessed an unprecedented and epochal national political realignment, a sea-change that holds great promise for bold devolution and economic rebalancing over the next parliament.

“All eyes should be on next year’s English Devolution White Paper and the combined authority mayoral elections for a sense of direction and advance in the agenda for transferring pro-growth powers from Whitehall and strengthening the local state.

“This will be influenced no doubt by a political determination from Boris Johnson’s government to try and hold onto the remarkable seats gained in the north and midlands overnight.

“Devolution and local industrial strategy offer a route map to make good on campaign promises of ‘levelling up’ to these new-found blue-collar Conservative voters in left behind areas and to closing the gap between the most and least prosperous parts of the country.”

“The trick will be to ensure productivity gains from a recharged and rebalanced UK economy find their way into the wage packets and lived experience of residents.  Not an easy ask in the teeth of our post-war economic history, but a challenge that the post-Brexit economy will have to meet head on.”