'Take power out of Westminster and carry it into every postcode.' That was Prime Minister Andy Burnham's line as he unveiled what Downing Street is calling the biggest shift of power, money and responsibility away from Whitehall in a generation. The headline change is big. English mayors are to receive a share of income tax revenues for the first time, alongside a bigger stake in business rates, on the argument that places which create jobs should keep more of the return. For northern city regions long told to wait their turn, it is a direct promise that growth in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds or the North East should not simply disappear back into the centre.

Burnham, only in his second week in office, used the announcement to tell Cabinet that the Whitehall-first model has had its day. He said more of the tax raised in a community should stay there, giving local leaders room to improve transport, build homes and back jobs without going cap in hand to Westminster. That matters beyond the mayoral map as it stands today. The government says places without a mayor will still be helped to form strategic authorities and take on more control over local priorities, so the devolution offer is not meant to stop at the big combined authorities.

At Westminster, the change is meant to turn the old culture on its head. Under a new 'local first' rule, ministers will have to explain why powers should stay in Whitehall rather than pass to local leaders. Angela Rayner said that should bring an end to the 'begging-bowl culture' that has left councils and regions waiting on central approval for decisions they know best. For readers across the North, that is the part worth watching. Governments of all colours have talked up devolution; the harder test is whether departments really let go when transport schemes, housing sites and skills budgets stop fitting national templates.

On the money, the first step comes in spring 2027, when mayors begin keeping a larger share of locally raised revenue starting with business rates. The detail on income tax retention is due in a roadmap at the Budget later in 2026, with ministers stressing that any shift will sit alongside what they call firm fiscal discipline. Chancellor John Healey's argument is that the people who understand local employers, local roads and local investment needs are the people who live there. Over time, the government wants areas to rely less on Whitehall grants and more on funding that rises when the local economy does well.

What that means on the ground is more control over buses and rail, including the kind of integrated ticketing northern passengers have been asking for years. It means stronger planning and regeneration powers to get homes built and stalled sites moving. It also means more say over big transport schemes, trams and metros, with fewer Whitehall hurdles in the way. There is a clear skills angle too. Mayors are set to gain control over 16 to 19 funding and employment support so training can match the jobs local firms actually need filling, whether that is construction in West Yorkshire, advanced manufacturing in Greater Manchester or care and childcare in the North East. Whitehall staff and funding are supposed to follow those powers out as well, so city regions are not handed new duties without the people to run them.

Downing Street's case is that this is not theory. In West Yorkshire, ministers point to a housing investment fund worth up to £334 million which has helped unlock land and stalled developments for thousands of homes. In the Liverpool City Region, they point to Tap and Go on Merseyrail, bus franchising later in 2026 and plans to bring rail services into public ownership by 2028. The North East is another example ministers are leaning on. The government says 65,000 residents there have been supported to gain qualifications, opening up routes into sectors such as construction and childcare. The message from No 10 is simple enough: where power has moved closer to home, delivery has followed.

There is a bigger political wager behind all this. Ministers say Britain has spent three decades investing less in its future than any other G7 country, and that a Whitehall-led model has left too many places overlooked. They also say the long-term aim is to spread the benefits of devolution more widely across the UK by working with devolved governments and local leaders, not just English combined authorities. A strengthened No 10 North operation is meant to work with mayors and councils to clear blockages, speed up decisions and keep government closer to the ground. Burnham's team says that should leave the Civil Service smaller and more focused on the jobs only central government can do. Northern readers will like the intent. The real test, as ever, is whether the cash and control genuinely follow the rhetoric.