UoM research supports Burnham’s claim – “devolution in Manchester is working”

A recent study conducted by University of Manchester researchers has found an encouraging link between devolution and a rise in life expectancy around Greater Manchester, supporting Mayor Andy Burnham’s claim that devolution is working.

These findings, published in The Lancet, state life expectancy was 0.2 years higher between 2017-19 in Greater Manchester, compared to a control group made up of members from the rest of England. Researchers accredited this to the “devolution deal” agreed in 2014 between the Greater Manchester authorities and the UK Government. This deal granted Greater Manchester Combined Authority power over policing, adult education, housing, and included provision for a “Metro Mayor”.

Even more striking was the report’s conclusion that life expectancy increased most dramatically in areas which, prior to devolution, had the lowest rates of life expectancy and highest income deprivation. This particular finding suggests that devolution is closing inequality gaps across Manchester, vindicating its supporters who cite this local, more targeted form of government as beneficial to underprivileged sections of society.

At his Mayor’s Question Time last week, Burnham, an avid supporter of devolution, referred to the report as evidence that “devolution in Greater Manchester is working”. He described Manchester as “the last bastion of stable government in the United Kingdom”. The study was utilised by Burnham as a form of “encouragement” on a localised level, despite what he called a “grim national picture”.

There has been very little research conducted on the public health impact of devolution on local populations, as lead author Dr Philip Britteon, Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, stated: the study is the “first robust evidence on the impact of devolution in England on population health”. Nonetheless, this report is assertive in its final and promising conclusion that health devolution in Greater Manchester is modestly narrowing inequalities.