Categorical Change In The Relationship Between Manchester And Whitehalls

By pursuing a similar agenda to that set by the centre, Manchester and in particular its leaders have been seen as a “natural ally by national governments” (Harding et al., 2010:990). However, it has not always been this way; before the mid to late 1980s the city was against the centre and indeed in opposition with each other (SOURCE). The Thatcher government reduced budgets and autonomy over local authorities, which made the Labour-led metropolitan regions hostile towards the centre. But now, almost thirty years later, there has been a categorical change in the relationship between Manchester and Whitehall. Especially in the context of this current devolution agenda, the city “finds itself championed as a model of pragmatism and an exemplar

Whilst enthusiastically adopting the centre’s approach to urban regeneration may be the largest cause of this change, the seductive narrative that the city has built for itself (which includes the centre approach being adopted) has played a key role in securing the support of government actors. This has translated through to the regions devolutionary ambitions, as evidenced by Osborne’s enthusiasm for Manchester. However, the narrative building, the change in relationship between centre and region, and the support for Manchester devolution from the centre hasn’t happened overnight. Instead, substantial resources and effort have been poured into developing the “intellectual ammunition” to help support and legitimise the claims being made by GM elites for devolution (Ward et al., 2016:421). One avenue that has been utilised has been partnership with consultancies and think-tanks, with GM elites using them as ‘research-cum-lobbying’ instruments (Ward et al., 2016, Haughton et al., 2016). Partly through developing its own research instrument in the form of the think-tank New Economy and partly through developing “external alliances” with organisation, GM elites have helped to shape the debate on regional governance (Ward et al., 2016:421). Reports that have come from these alliances have helped to make the case for devolution based upon the GM case study. This is also where the GM narrative has really been built and then disseminated, further developing the mythos of the city described