Labour will devolve any increase in business rates to Birmingham and the Black Country under a deal for the regions, which Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said 鈥済oes way beyond what the Tories are offering鈥.
Mr Balls said Birmingham and the West Midlands had been short-changed by Chancellor George Osborne in a Budget which promised better deals for Manchester and Cambridge alone and pledged to .
He spoke to the Post as he launched Labour鈥檚 economic policy and general election poster campaign in Birmingham.
Earlier this year, Mr Balls said a Labour government would devolve about 拢30 billion of centralised spending to the regions, covering business support, apprenticeships and skills, house building and local transport.
Expanding further he said Birmingham and the Black Country had every right to be angry over the Coalition Government鈥檚 recent devolution deals for Manchester and the 鈥楴orthern Powerhouse鈥.
He said under the Tories only cities and regions which agree to have an elected mayor would be given more funding and freedom. He added: 鈥淏irmingham and the West Midlands are being badly short-changed and it鈥檚 not good enough. Labour鈥檚 going to change that after the general election.
鈥淚n the Budget, George Osborne said he would allow Manchester and Cambridge to keep any increase in business rates, but why is he excluding Birmingham and the Black Country? to have more powers but he鈥檚 excluding Birmingham because Birmingham has not signed up to an elected mayor.
鈥淲hat we will do is go further than the Tories on devolution. We鈥檒l devolve the business rates uplift, we鈥檒l devolve decision making over local transport, apprenticeships and skills, business support and we鈥檒l do it to every part of the country not just some.鈥
He said that since Birmingham and many other cities had rejected elected mayors in the 2012 referendum a Labour Government would not impose one. That remains a decision for the local people.
But, he said they would view favourably those councils which worked together in combined authorities and gave his backing to moves towards that in the West Midlands.
鈥淲e need our cities to work together. It won鈥檛 be a complete blank cheque from us. We will say local authorities must work together. But we are not going to short change Birmingham with a poor deal.鈥
Mr Balls visited the Clock Cafe in Northfield where he politely declined a bacon sandwich 鈥 rather than risk a repeat of the embarrassing photographs which have dogged Ed Miliband. A sandwich was later supplied to enjoy in the privacy of his car.
On the NHS funding, which was also recently devolved to Manchester, he said councils and health services 鈥 to deliver cost effective integration between social care and health care.
Last month Prime Minister David Cameron told the Post his Government did not regard Birmingham as a 鈥榮econd class city鈥.
鈥淲e recognise Birmingham鈥檚 status as Britain鈥檚 second city as a powerhouse and it will get the attention it deserves,鈥 he said.
