Graham Pearce (Aston University) & Sarah Ayres (Bristol University) Taking stock & contemplating regional governance in England after the General Election Graham Pearce (Aston University) & Sarah Ayres (Bristol University)

Introduction The aim of the paper is to explore the institutional & policy trajectory of the English regions Key questions include: How has English regionalism evolved over the past decade? How are New Labour’s most recent regional reforms being applied in the English regions? What are the Conservative party’s proposals for reforming the sub-national tier? How might English regionalism evolve post the 2010 General Election?

Labour’s Legacy Administrative decentralisation post 1997 Failed North East referendum (2004) - no plan B & opened door to advocates of city-regions Governance of Britain - Regional Ministers & Regional Select Committees (2007) Review of Sub-national Economic Development & Regeneration (2007) Prosperous Places DCLG/DBERR consultation (2008) Local Democracy, Economic Development & Construction Act (2009) LA Leader Boards & RDAs replace Assemblies Green light for Multi-Area Agreements (MAAs) & City regions

Implementing the SNR Varied response & capabilities of Local Government Threatened role of Social, Economic & Environmental Partners (SEEPs) Lack of clarity about the focus, traction & level of precision of the Single Regional Strategy (SRS) Concerns over staff arrangements Restricted remit of Regional Ministers & potential overlap Uncertainty over the longevity of reforms Select/Grand Committees early days but hamstrung

The Conservative Critique Functional administrative boundaries do not ‘chime’ with community identities Current regional tier is wasteful & unaccountable No progress towards reducing regional disparities With an emphasis on ‘new localism’ the party intends to: Abolish regional planning & housing powers & transfer to districts Strip RDAs of their non-economic powers Give local authorities the power to establish local enterprise partnerships to take over RDA functions Tentative plans to abolish (some?) RDAs Differences of opinion amongst Conservative interests between regions & nationally/locally

Conclusions The governance of England in the post-devolution context is unstable The SNR was intended to deal with the ‘unfinished business’ of English regionalism - significant barriers remain The implementation of SNR proposals lacks vision & coherence The Conservative alternative would potentially relegate regions to the margins of political debate & empower local authorities Both parties are apparently committed to voluntary sub-regional working but the lesson is that this rarely works Whichever party wins the General Election it will inherit a fragmented & complex system of sub-national government In the absence of a strategic master plan in Whitehall continued institutional repositioning looks the most likely outcome