Earlier this week Burnham unveiled plans to move parts of the Downing Street operation to Manchester<\/a>, as he warned: \u201cThe days of Whitehall fighting the devolution of power into the regions and nations are over, for good.\u201d<\/p>\n England has some of the worst regional inequality in the western world, with seven of the 10 poorest regions in northern Europe \u2013 something many experts blame on the country\u2019s highly centralised politics.<\/p>\n Spencer said: \u201cNational command and control systems have proved insufficient to tackling our more complex problems.\u201d<\/p>\n His paper argues for \u201ca radical reshaping of the state around local democratic boundaries at local or strategic authority level supported by a central state that encourages rather than controls\u201d.<\/p>\n Under his plans, mayors would appoint health and education commissioners to oversee local schools, GPs and childcare providers in a similar role to that played by police and crime commissioners.<\/p>\n Mayors should be given direct control of sixth-form colleges and the government\u2019s skills agenda, possibly receiving more than \u00a34bn from the growth and skills levy to help pay for that.<\/p>\n Meanwhile health commissioners, appointed directly by mayors, would have oversight of public health and primary care.<\/p>\n On policing, Spencer endorses Shabana Mahmood\u2019s plans to reduce the number of police forces, although he recommends aligning them with mayoral areas and allowing mayors to become police and crime commissioners, as some already have.<\/p>\n Burnham is reportedly sceptical<\/a> about Mahmood\u2019s proposals, which would merge 43 forces in England and Wales into between 12 and 20 larger regional constabularies. Aligning them with mayoral areas and strategic authorities, however, could provide a solution to concerns that large forces would be unaccountable.<\/p>\n Spencer\u2019s ideas were previously considered<\/a> by the current housing and local government secretary, Steve Reed, though ministers decided not to go further than the existing devolution bill, which allows mayors to ask for new powers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782846071_379_1000.jpg\")
<\/p>\n