Press Story

Over a third of people living in England think that local authorities should be given more powers, according to a new report published today by the think tank IPPR North.

Drawing upon evidence from the latest Future of England Survey, the report shows that 39% of people living in England think that local authorities should have more powers, compared to just 14% who think that local authorities should have fewer powers. It also shows that support for greater powers is particularly strong in the regions of the North East and North West of England and that a 'Boris of the North' is needed to provide strong leadership in the North and who can make the case for further powers and controls.

The report says that people feel most strongly attached to their local area. 80% of people said they felt closely attached to their local area, compared to 75% to England, 66% to Britain and 26% to Europe.

The report says that trust in local councils is almost twice as high as trust in Parliament. The report shows that 64% of people have trust in local councils compared to just 36% of people who have trust in Parliament (Citizenship Survey). The report also shows that councillors are more trusted than any other type of politician. 28% of people think councillors tell the truth always or most of the time, compared to 24% for MPs, 15% for government ministers and 14% for politicians generally (Standards for England).

The report argues that in places where powers are clear and territorially defined, such as London, there is a greater sense of local authority effectiveness. It says that the UK government has recognised the strength of attachment in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London – offering them new powers and institutions in recent years, but argues that devolution must go further in the rest of England.

The report recommends that city-regions outside of London should be given more powers over public spending.

Ed Cox, Director of IPPR North, said:

"Local identities are important and, alongside the rise in Englishness, we are also witnessing an even stronger attachment to local places. We now more Essex than English, Brummie than British.

"People feel more able to influence decision-making locally than they do at the national level and so giving more powers to local areas would appear to be an important way in which people can reinvigorate local democracy.

"Local attachment is felt strongest outside of London and the South East and translates into calls for more powerful local institutions. The UK government has now offered new powers and institutions to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London, where social and political identification have been strongest, but this should not be the end of the story. The Scottish referendum later in the year is already shining a light on the so called English question; central government should now listen and respond to the public appetite for more powers for the city-regions outside London."

Notes to editors

IPPR North's new report – The Future of England: the local dimension - is published on Monday 14 April and will be available from: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/12120/the-future-of-england-the-local-dimension

IPPR North's report – Rebalancing the books: How to make the 2015 spending review work for all of Britain - is available from: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/11674/rebalancing-the-books-how-to-make-the-2015-spending-review-work-for-all-of-britain

The final report from the Northern Economic Futures Commission – Northern Prosperity is National Prosperity: A Strategy for Revitalising the UK Economy – is available from: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/9949/northern-prosperity-is-national-prosperity-a-strategy-for-revitalising-the-uk-economy

IPPR's report - The dog that finally barked: England as an emerging political community- is available from: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/8542/the-dog-that-finally-barked-england-as-an-emerging-political-community

English public attitudes to local authority powers (%)
Question: Which of these statements comes closest to your view?

Local authorities in England should have fewer powers 14
We should leave things as they are now 30
Local authorities in England should have more powers 39
Don't know 17

English public attitudes to local attachment (%)
Question: How closely attached do you feel to these different parts of the world?

Your local England as Britain as Europe as
area a whole a whole a whole

Very closely 33 22 16 4
Fairly closely 47 53 50 22
Not very closely 16 20 27 43
Not at all closely 4 4 6 32

Polling figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 3600adults and fieldwork was undertaken between23rd and 28th November 2012. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). The survey was conducted using an online interview of administered members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 185,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. An email was sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition, inviting them to take part in the survey and providing a link to the survey. (The sample definition could be "GB adult population" or a subset such as "GB adult females"). YouGov Plc normally achieves a response rate of between 35 per cent and 50 per cent to surveys however this does vary dependent upon the subject matter, complexity and length of the questionnaire. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.