Thanks to the RHS for their flower pot men bringing joy to Sheffield train station this morning. Ingenious marketing 🌺

Building the capacity of the local state, including through fiscal devolution, would be sensible. Visitor levy devo is an obvious first step

Brits are generally supportive. Support even rises to 52 & 50% in urban & rural areas. Yet English Mayors don't have these powers

But what do people want?

...To do what they want. In their own place. With their own money

Our polling with @moreincommonuk.bsky.social shows that more Britons support than oppose powers being handed to local leaders to raise and spend money locally

Today I’ve published an intervention @ipprnorth.bsky.social on visitor levies 🏨

Backed by calls from Mayors like Oliver Coppard and @davidskaith.bsky.social, the @yorkshirepost.co.uk says it puts pressure on Rachel Reeves to hand over the power to Mayors 🧵

Good morning from my part of the North, where all trains to today’s *Convention of the North* are cancelled 🙃

“We are taking another step in relighting the fire in our great regions”

Deputy PM on her feet, launching the white paper which has just been published here…

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Hello from Leeds where I'm joining the Deputy Prime Minister for the launch of the English Devolution White Paper, representing @ipprnorth.bsky.social

I'm feeling positive - in a country with deep inequalities, devolution is a promise that must be delivered