Double Devolution: Towards a Local Perspective

Ideas of ‘double devolution’ are again gaining traction across the United Kingdom’s public policy landscape, with a growing coalition advocating for greater power and responsibility to be transferred, not just from national to regional or local government, but onward to sub-local neighbourhoods and communities too. This deepening of devolution to the sub-local level is routinely presented as a response to the stark spatial inequalities that exist within and between the UK’s regions. By enabling communities to exercise greater control over local decision-making, funding, and services, it is argued that processes of double devolution can help to improve local outcomes and promote prosperity...