The Difference a Mayor Makes: My Summer in Manchester, England
From the inception of its textiles industry, Manchester has been an engine of industry-led innovation, defining the city as a center of economic and institutional development. Manchester’s origin as a pioneer of development influenced its decision to devolve from national government.
With its first mayor and newly-formed Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the new Manchester city-region plans to use devolution to address some of the region’s profound problems with education, housing, and transportation.
I was involved in the development of this evidence base in my work with the GMCA this summer. My contributions to the skills and employment team were part of a larger effort to understand how GMCA could best implement change within the school system and what powers it would need to devolve in order to do this.