Britain's centralised model of delivering growth and opportunity has long failed to tap the potential of every town, city, and region. Burnham's Government is changing that, and last week's Budget was a major step forward, that commentators have overlooked.
Britain is the most centralised major economy in the world. Only 5% of tax is retained locally, compared with 12% in France and 32% in Germany. The Budget reminded us of the consequences: productivity, healthy life expectancy, and wages vary more between places than almost anywhere in the developed world. Central government's share of state employment is at a record high and local government's is at a record low.
