Launching the Case for Cities Report at the Labour Party Conference

At this year’s Labour Party Conference we launched the Case for Cities report with a panel of city leaders, chaired by Managing Consultant Hannah McShane, who has spearheaded this research.

Our report sets out the huge opportunities for national renewal, which flow through unleashing our smaller cities to succeed. England is a polycentric country - and if we want the country to thrive we need every place empowered and enabled to succeed to its fullest potential.

The majority of these ten cities are in two-tier areas, lacking the full breadth of powers available to Core Cities or many Key Cities. They are overwhelmingly under-bounded and constrained, meaning that either they can't grow or that communities exist over a formal boundary who have no say in the running of the city they see as home. Where there are already Mayoral Combined Authorities in place some lack a formal seat at the decision-making table despite being the economic engine of many of their regions.

The report makes clear recommendations that we need a clear Cities Strategy from the Government. Crucially this means recognising the critical juncture we are at as the Government considers the shape and structure of future unitary councils through LGR: whether we will have councils that are designed around the distinctiveness of places, be they cities, coastal or rural communities, or just one-size-fits-all.