𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham wants to spread what he calls “Manchesterism” across the country. There’s one big snag. It’s going to cost us all money. Because a key part of his plan is to allow regional mayors to impose new taxes. The Prime Minister believes that he transformed Manchester when he served as Greater Manchester Mayor for nine years.

He told MPs about “a decade of personal experience of turning around one of the UK’s former industrial heartlands and turning it into the fastest growing city region in the country, bucking the low-growth trend.” Mr Burnham said: “The approach that I led in Manchester was all about the public taking control of what they need to do in order to make a place functional for businesses and people. That is Manchesterism, and that is what we will bring nationally.”

And the Prime Minister said he had “a clear theory of growth and I will apply it to all parts of the UK, learning from what has been achieved in Greater Manchester”.

The way he will do this is to create regional councils in every part of England. Most will be led by directly-elected mayors.

And the plan includes what the Government calls “fiscal devolution”. In everyday English, that means allowing mayors to collect taxes.

Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner last week confirmed that mayors would be allowed to impose a charge on holidaymakers in their regions.

The overnight stay levy could add 5% to hotel bills, and the travel industry is worried. Business leaders fear extra costs will put off both Brits and foreigners considering a holiday in the UK.

However, this is just the start. Chancellor John Healey is to set out plans for mayors to impose a “local income tax”, as part of his Budget statement on October 28. This may be matched by a cut in the national income tax we all currently pay, but so far that has not been guaranteed.

In other words, Mr Burnham’s devolution revolution is likely to cost us all more.

Giving mayors the power to levy taxes is a key part of the plan. And we don’t yet know for sure, but it’s safe to assume you and I will end up paying more tax in total.

Andy Burnham is conducting a huge experiment. He’s convinced the country will benefit from following the example of Greater Manchester – and its former mayor, one Mr Burnham. We can only hope the experiment succeeds, because it may be very expensive indeed.