Manchester gets directly elected Mayor to maximise potential of north: Greater Manchester is to get its own directly elected city wide mayor with powers over transport, housing, planning and policing, Chancellor George Osborne has announced. The government will now prepare legislation to enable these changes with the potential for the Mayoral election to take place in 2017. The measure is the latest initiative in the Chancellor’s plan to create a Northern Powerhouse to maximise the economic potential of the north. The proposals also include devolving further powers to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority including over support for business growth, skills and help to join up health and social care budgets. Taken together the plans represent a comprehensive package of powers for Greater Manchester. The government believes this will create a powerful devolved administration with strong political leadership that can drive through policy to stimulate economic growth and plan strategically across the city, as well as nationally and internationally. The government hopes that Manchester will be the first of many big cities to take advantage of greater devolution of powers. Chancellor George Osborne said: “This is a massive moment for the north of England and our plan to build the Northern Powerhouse. After several months of private discussions with local representatives from all three parties, I have reached agreement with the civic leaders of Greater Manchester to create the first metro-wide elected mayor outside of London. This will give Mancunians a powerful voice and bring practical improvements for local people, with better transport links, an Oyster-style travelcard, and more investment in skills and the city’s economy. I want to talk to other cities who are keen to follow Manchester’s lead – every city is different, and no model of local power will be the same. The Northern Powerhouse is becoming a reality. We plan to make major investments in northern transport and science, now we have agreement on the first metro area Mayor. This is what we’ve achieved in just a few months. Giving cities power is part of our long term economic plan to reduce the decades-old gap between north and south, London and the rest.” Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “This landmark agreement shows how serious we are about moving powers out of Whitehall and reinforces the significant authority and finance already given to local communities. It is an important step in our continuing work to decentralise, to increase local democracy, bring better services and deliver more homes and jobs. Greater power for local government must always come with greater local accountability so people can challenge their council to do better and hold them to account about services they provide.” Lord Peter Smith, chair of GMCA, said: “Make no mistake, this devolution settlement is a momentous moment for Greater Manchester. It gives us greater control over own destiny in several key areas and the ability to base decisions on local priorities and needs rather than on ‘one size fits all’ dictates from Westminster. This isn’t about taking powers from individual Greater Manchester authorities. It’s about powers coming down from central government to a more localised level.” Sir Richard Leese, vice chair of GMCA, said: “Greater Manchester has been in the vanguard of the national devolution debate. It was clear that an over-centralised national system was not delivering the best results for our people or our economy. We are extremely pleased that we can now demonstrate what a city region with greater freedoms can achieve and contribute further to the growth of the UK. Our ultimate ambition is for full devolution of all public spending in Greater Manchester, currently around £22 billion a year, so that we either influence or control the whole amount. We recognise that this cannot happen overnight and there needs to be a staged approach based on evidence that devolution delivers increased economic growth and better public services. But today’s settlement is a huge move forwards and a road map for the future.”