Devolution: the problem is public apathy

‘Take back control’ was one of the rallying cries used by the Leave campaign to persuade the UK to leave the EU. However, many don’t seem to apply the same sentiment to taking back power from Westminster.

Devolution for England’s cities lingers at the bottom of the news agenda, all too often overshadowed by Brexit as the negotiations unfold. Voters remain uninterested and uninspired by talk of localism and localised powers.

All of this is despite successive governments treating devolution as a priority, with former chancellor George Osborne forecasting that a cities devolution bill would forge a ‘radical new model of city government’. In fact, new research published in GK Strategy’s latest report, Devolution disconnected: political priority, public apathy finds that devolution has failed to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.

GK’s sister agency Onefourzero found there had been a 37% decrease in online conversations surrounding devolution in the UK since the announcement of the first city deal in 2014.

While there were peaks after the Liverpool and Birmingham city deals in 2015, online conversations have continued to decrease year on year. With the mayoral elections in full swing and voting just around the corner, this does not bode well for a decent election-day turnout.

There are a number of reasons why the public aren’t interested at taking back control at a local level.

Firstly, people remain sceptical about the role of elected mayors; Birmingham and Manchester, the two largest cities outside of London, both voted against them in local referendums in 2012, yet in May they will go to the polls to elect them. There appears to be some confusion among ordinary voters over how elected mayors will fit in with and work alongside existing structures and elected councils.

It is also unclear what will be achieved with new devolved powers. For instance, in Manchester there has been a notably negative reaction to the idea of devolved health and social care services, despite the potential opportunities this provides for commissioners to develop the services most needed by local populations.

There are also negative views about the wider idea of devolution, including a perception that many of the mayoral candidates are career politicians more interested in personal ambition than serving local communities. This sits alongside a degree of cynicism about the devolution of responsibility without the resources to deliver improvements. So, while local decision makers may look like they’re in charge, Whitehall’s vice-like grip on budgets will mean they will have little actual power to overhaul services.

Having inspired the public to take back control at a national level, policymakers should be prepared to make a more persuasive case to voters to embrace devolution within the UK. If lack of clarity and traditional distrust of politician’s effectiveness are the key reasons behind the public’s apathy towards the concept of devolution, then we are likely to see a low turn-out in May and lack of engagement from the outset.

To inspire, devolution needs to mean something real to ordinary people and positive change needs to emerge as a result. There is a window of opportunity to turn apathy into enthusiasm, but this is a tall task that will require strong local leadership, and a government prepared to devolve both responsibility and resources.

• You can read GK Strategy’s Report Devolution Disconnected: Political Priority, Public Apathy here.

Photo by ell brown