The UK has been on an unsteady crawl towards devolved arrangements for economic growth and local services. 

In the last 15 years, we have seen the abolition of Regional Development Agencies to be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships which have now been overtaken by Strategic Authorities. The 2011 Localism Act, the 2023 Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 have each taken another step on that unsteady journey. Prior to that we had the creation of devolved arrangements for Greater London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

GC Insight supports local places throughout the UK to use their powers to make better informed decisions and secure bigger positive impacts for local businesses, communities and economies. We have had a ring-side seat as these devolved arrangements have come into play. In this article, we consider what could come next for devolution in England and how it may be shaped by a new Prime Minister.

What is the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act?

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act creates a system of tiered powers, strengthens mayoral leadership and facilitates more flexible and reliable funding arrangements. It aims to shift England from a fragmented deal-based devolution model to a standardised and scalable system for regional governance and economic delivery.

The latest phase of the devo-journey through the Devolution Priority Programme has paved the way for around 80% of England to live in a Strategic Authority area. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act has created a clearer framework of tiered powers which offers a stronger platform for a more rapid expansion of devolved decision-making and investment.

What could come next for Devolution?

On 22 June 2026, Sir Keir Starmer announced that he would resign as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, paving the way for a new Prime Minister in Downing Street by September, but possibly as early as July. As we write, the odds are on Andy Burnham becoming the next PM, largely propelled by his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester and coming at a time when economic growth in the city-region has been outpacing the UK.

We don’t yet know what is in his mind, but the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 allows a new PM to speed up the transfer of decision-making on transport and infrastructure, skills and employment, housing and planning, and economic development and regeneration. Some things that he might be able to do to move devolution forward could include:

• More Mayoral involvement in planning via spatial strategies, development orders, new vehicles, mechanisms to support community infrastructure and more investment to tackle brownfield land challenges.
• More locally designed, commissioned and delivered employment support to tackle the challenge of economic inactivity and barriers to sustained employment for people with disabilities and health conditions, co-ordinated across the NHS, DWP and the third sector.
• More experimentation with local training provision and apprenticeships to create more pathways for young people outside the university route and into technical trades.
• Greater control and spend on local transport to reduce the costs for learners and commuters, so city-regions can expand their effective labour markets.
• A bigger push to deliver more affordable housing and investment in our high streets to strengthen people’s pride and attachment to the places where they live.
• A drive to channel more regional investment into supporting local businesses and promoting inward investment focused on locally chosen strengths and strategic priorities.
• A greater role in channelling resources into local innovation assets and projects to better align UKRI and local universities with the needs of priority sectors.

This could be delivered by a more rapid roll out of integrated settlements (moving away from project-by-project approvals). With all that will come more scrutiny which the Act allows for, with its duty to present information on request, new public petition rights and a requirement to show effectiveness and value for money when spending public resources.

Much can be done with the latest legislation in place, but longer term, it is quite possible that an Andy Burnham election manifesto might include: 

• Steps towards fiscal devolution with new tax raising powers for Strategic Authorities through local business rates, tourism levies, council tax supplements, and in the longer term, even local income tax. 
• Wider scope to borrow for investment in infrastructure to drive growth.
• A bigger role in shaping UK energy policy including carbon budgets, energy efficiency programmes and strategic approach to heat and power generation.
• Fuller control over skills and employment budgets and transferring roles from Job Centre Plus.
• A more muscular approach to public service reform in areas such as social care, children's services and early years, plus greater involvement in criminal justice and rehabilitation services.

Beyond devo reform, looking at what Andy Burnham has said on the campaign trail, we could also see a shift from Council Tax to Land Value Tax, changes to local business rates, more council house building and greater public control of utilities.

What does effective devolution need to succeed?

The case for devolution is clear and strong, but the central lesson from Greater Manchester is that the recent successes of the city-region have been built on 40+ years of collaboration between local government and other bodies (such as AGMA, The Growth Company, universities and more recently the NHS), and a pragmatic approach to working with central government. It has taken time to build the relationships, culture, capacity and know-how needed to deliver. And even after all that effort, GM has further to go. Although the headline growth rates are impressive, underlying challenges around deprivation, poor health outcomes and urban renewal continue to need critical attention.

GC Insight has a successful track record in supporting local and combined authorities, public bodies and their partners to make better informed decisions about devolution, local growth and investment. We can help places at each stage of the process, from developing the evidence base and shaping local growth priorities, through to designing delivery models, assessing impact and demonstrating value for money. To find out more, connect with our team.

Published: 23 June 2026.