Dan Tomlinson MP

Delighted to remain as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and to be appointed as the Growth Minister - working across @hmtreasury and @cabinetofficeuk. Higher economic growth, spread more evenly across the country, is the route to higher prosperity for everyone. Building on the progress that has been made over the last two years, I'll be working at the centre of government helping to bring about the economic change that the PM and Chancellor know this country needs. Growth is about people's lives, it's about the places we love, it supports the public finances and it secures our place in the world. It's the foundation of everything else we want to do as a Labour party in government and we need more of it everywhere. As the PM said on Monday - taking power out of Westminster, stronger control over the essentials, and undoing the wrong turns made in decades past are all essential for building a new economy. Let's do it!

@tomhfh Not sure how much clearer we can be! The statement says this: "replacing grants from central government with a share of local income tax for every mayor beginning in 2028, such that where a region grows its tax base, it benefits from the increased receipts".

@dantomlinsonmp so will high growth places like Cambridge be better off and low growth places like Lincolnshire be worse off?

No, that's not right. We are replacing existing grants and settlements full of strings-attached with an income stream, the growth of which will be determined by growth in local income taxes. As you know, we're going to work together with Mayors on this. But let's not forget that the existing grants (which will shape, but won't fully determine, the baseline) already seek to account for local need/population. The PM, and the whole team working on this, are clear that there will be sharp incentives for growth for mayors. And, as we say in the statement, the design of this massive and decisive set of changes will be determined by continuing to work together with Mayors.

As featured in the Standard here: standard.co.uk/comment/number…

My take on devolution as a London MP: When the Prime Minister says Number 10 North is about nothing less than remaking the British state, you might expect a London MP be sceptical. However, I am an MP in Barnet, representing London’s suburban fringe, and I’m not a sceptic but a champion for what the PM is doing – because Number 10 North is for North London too. Let me give you an example: housing. I’ve lost count now of the number of times I’ve met constituents in my patch of North London, who are into their thirties and forties and yet still living with their parents despite wanting a place of their own. At the acute end, more than one child in every classroom in London is now living in temporary accommodation. I experienced temporary housing for years as a child, and I know just how uprooting it is. And yet, unless we stop Britain’s economy flying on just one London-shaped engine, we will struggle to fix this issue. The UK is one of the most economically unbalanced advanced economies in the world. Compared with other advanced economies, England’s largest cities outside London are further from their potential, with many having productivity levels below the national average. Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham are fantastic places, but measured against Munich, Lille and Barcelona they are underperforming economically, as are many of the towns and villages around them. This is not for a lack of talent and ingenuity of the people who live there, but for a lack of agency to build their own future. And that hurts London too, because London absorbs the consequences. Millions across the country face a choice: stay near mum and dad near where you’re from and compete for the relatively few high-productivity jobs nearby - or move south to London and its surrounds. Millions choose to move south. The result is a London housing market that is profoundly overheated, not to mention some of the longest average commute times in Europe. So, what does the vision of Number 10 North that the Prime Minister has set out mean for Londoners like me? First, if cities like Manchester and Leeds were to offer more of the economic opportunity that London offers, fewer people are forced to make the journey south. That is not London losing out. That is pressure coming off London’s housing market, its hospitals, its transport network, its schools. Second, devolution is not going to be something that just happens elsewhere: it is for London too. Every argument for giving a city like Leeds real control over transport, skills and land is an argument for giving the capital the same. If the Mayor of London could raise money through a visitor levy and put it towards local infrastructure, Londoners would be better off. A greater say over business rates would let London back its own growth plans rather than waiting on a collection of government departments. London will benefit too from being able to learn from good decisions and policies as they are implemented in other devolved parts of the country. Third, the fixes are complementary rather than competing. London’s biggest economic constraint is homes. In many other places the constraint is connectivity. It is harder to travel between our northern cities than between comparable cities anywhere else in Europe. That must change. Building greater transport connections across the country doesn’t take away opportunity from London: when the rest of the country thrives, London is better able to thrive. That is why I am taking up the role of Growth Minister with real excitement and looking forward to working with the team in Number 10 North. Its role, and its location as a statement of intent for the economic realignment we need, is very welcome indeed. Not because London’s turn is over, but because we are all part of one national story, and a country where every community can do more for itself is a country where the people I represent in London’s suburbs do better too.

** we will confirm our plans for the design of the Overnight Visitor Levy, activate mayoral intervention powers in the planning system, devolve decisions on Transport and Works Act Orders

** look to reduce the number of duplicative policy, communications, and strategy teams in arm’s length bodies, which are not reporting into accountable local leaders or ministers.

One of the most significant government publications in decades. With strong leadership from the PM, the powerhouse team in Number 10 North & work with colleagues across govt, we are going to set our country on different & better path. gov.uk/government/pub…

Just untrue. We are taking a radically different approach. Mayors are going to get business rates retention, and, from 2028 a share of local income tax revenues & control over skills budgets & employment support. This is quite clearly not faux-devolution James!

Ours is the most centralised country in the G7. If we change that with devolution of income tax revenues & business rates retention, Mayors will have the means & incentive to back growth-enhancing regional projects. Big moment in undoing Thatcher's centralisation of power.

A massive step forward in devolution is coming. We will ensure it is pro-growth and investment & will work quickly to implement the changes. Looking forward to making it happen, w colleagues in regional govt, the Treasury, No. 10 North & MHCLG. ft.com/content/160a68…

Excited to say that it will happen. I've been working on how to make fiscal devolution happen inside the Treasury for months after a landmark speech by Rachel Reeves. And the direction of travel set out earlier this year is being turbocharged by Number 10 North and the PM, who is very clear about what he wants to see happen so that local leaders can have more power and incentives to back growth in their parts of the country. Watch this space!

My thoughts on the new No10 North. open.substack.com/pub/mayorricha…