ALL eyes are on Manchester this week as it plays host to the Labour Party Conference. More than 17,000 extra visitors will have the chance to see for themselves just how much the city has been transformed over the past decade.

The Manchester conurbation is now the strongest regional centre in the UK and the principal economic driver for the North of England, providing 350,000 jobs, a concentration of high growth sector businesses, world-class sport and cultural facilities, and the only international gateway airport outside the South East. We have 90,000 students in the highest performing higher education institutions in the region and we are a recognised centre for knowledge-based activity. The city is now consistently judged as one of the most attractive business destinations in Europe.

We are at a defining point in the evolution of England’s cities and with its combination of economic assets and need for continuing regeneration, Manchester is at the forefront of change. The Government has recognised that improving national economic success by narrowing the gap between the best and worst performing regions depends on the performance of eight core cities (Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield) and their city regions. This puts the future of our cities high on the political agenda as we await the findings of the Lyons inquiry into the future of local government and the forthcoming Local Government White Paper.

All of England’s core cities have made significant progress over the past decade, but there is no room for complacency. We face major challenges in all our cities to improve skills, reduce worklessness and defeat poverty. The core cities need to be better equipped if we are to match the best in Europe.

We need to improve our transport networks. As conference delegates stroll around Manchester city centre they can compare modern, efficient and popular trams with a deregulated bus network reduced to a crawl as competition for passengers on the most profitable routes means hundreds of buses fighting for space in the city centre. This must change. The market-led approach is failing us and the Manchester city-region must be able to plan and deliver a transport network including rail, tram and buses, where routes, timetables and fares are determined in an integrated way. More of how we plan and pay for services and infrastructure can and should be done locally.

Building on what are our considerable achievements, government must be bolder in a number of other priority policy areas: supporting innovation and enterprise; skills, worklessness and social inclusion. The core cities want a new settlement with government empowering us to ensure that as we write the next chapter in the long history of our cities it is a story of success. The London experience shows how devolution to city-regions with the ability to plan and control their own destiny, can bring about real improvements on the ground.

The debate this week in Manchester will be an important step in the future direction of our cities. We have only begun to tap the economic potential of our core cities. With greater ability to determine our own future, cities such as Manchester will be able to contribute so much more for our local communities, the regions we are at the heart of, and the country as a whole.

Sir Richard Leese is the Labour leader of Manchester City Council

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