Budget Resolutions

Chris Curtis Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North) (Lab)]

I will speak about the devolution measures announced in the Budget and the fiscal devolution pathway that has been set out. We normally hear two arguments for devolution: first, that decisions should be made closer to the people they affect rather than in Whitehall, and secondly, that investment should be spread more fairly beyond London and certain pockets of the south-east. I agree with both those arguments, but I think there is a more important argument: devolution can help us grow the economy and make the British state work better.

After nearly two decades of stagnation, we desperately need to raise productivity, build infrastructure more quickly and unlock growth across the country. I believe that devolution can be one of the best ways of doing that, but it needs to come with fiscal devolution. Some 95% of tax revenue in Britain is raised by central Government, rather than at a regional or local level. Meanwhile, France raises three times as much at a sub-national level, and in Germany it is much higher still. The Centre for Cities has found that there is a strong relationship between fiscal devolution and wages across devolved economies. Correlation is not always causation, but there are obvious economic reasons why that relationship exists.

Today, when councils approve new housing, attract employers or build infrastructure, they take the political risk and bear many of the up-front costs, but much of the additional tax revenue goes straight to the Treasury and eventually gets redistributed elsewhere. Even when councils retain that money, it can disappear at the next funding reset, as we saw earlier this year. Local leaders bear the cost of growth, while the Treasury collects the proceeds. That is why I welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to increase business rates retention, giving mayors a share of business rates growth from next year, and to give mayors a share of income tax receipts from 2028. If we want local leaders to take difficult decisions in favour of growth, their communities need to share in the rewards.

Stable future revenues can also allow local areas to borrow against future growth to pay for the infrastructure needed today, and it is good to see the Government looking at how that can happen through bodies such as the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation. I hope that is something we can look at in Milton Keynes in the future.

I want to finish by saying that although many areas across the country will benefit from the proceeds of the Government’s announcements on devolution, I am disappointed that it was announced this week that my local area will not be one of them. That is despite the hard work and determination of many MPs across this Chamber to get devolution across Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. Indeed, the Government came forward with a package of nearly £1 billion to get this over the line. It was unfortunately vetoed by one local government leader in Central Bedfordshire, who decided to put politics ahead of the people he was elected to represent. He has let the local area down, and I hope the Government will continue to work with all local leaders in the area to see if they can find a solution.