Following the latest push for reform resulting from the recent report on English devolution by the PACAC, Sir Bob Neill reiterates that fiscal devolution is the only way forwards – and local government needs to be seen as a true partner of Whitehall

With Boris Johnson having recently aborted a second tilt at leadership, talk of austerity swirling in the news, and another high-profile politician about to dip their toe into the murky waters of reality TV, you could be mistaken for thinking we’ve acquired the ability to time travel. Indeed, it all feels very 2016.

That sense of déjà vu continued with last week’s publication of a report on English devolution by Parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC), the findings of which broadly correspond with the conclusions those of us who sat on the London Finance Commission came to six years’ ago, and reflect the recommendations of the plethora of earlier studies we drew on before that.