By Richard Johnstone | 14 April 2014
More people believe that councils in England should be given extra powers than are satisfied with their town halls’ current responsibilities, a poll for the IPPR North think-tank has found.
According to a poll for the think-tank by YouGov, 39% of 3,600 people polled said local authorities in England should have more powers. Less than one-third (30%) said the current system should not change, while 14% said councils should have fewer powers, and 17% said they didn’t know.
Support for greater powers is strongest in the North East and the North West of England, where IPPR said there was a need for stronger political leadership and spending powers for local areas.
The poll for the IPPR’s The Future of England: the local dimension report also found that more people felt very or fairly closely attached to their local area (80%) than to England as a whole (75%), Britain (66%) or Europe (26%).
IPPR North director Ed Cox said people felt more able to influence decision-making locally.
‘Local attachment is felt strongest outside of London and the South East and translates into calls for more powerful local institutions,’ he added.
‘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.’
