Politics class: Gove calls for devolution of control of business rates to England’s mayors

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.

Specification:

• AQA Component 1, Section 3.1.1.5: Devolution: debate around devolution in England

• Edexcel Component 2, Section 1.4: The extent to which devolution should be extended in England 

Background: what you need to know

The article looks at the announcement by Michael Gove, the minister responsible for ‘levelling up’ the regions of the UK, of plans for further devolution within England. In particular, he would like to see control of the commercial property tax handed to elected metro mayors.

The political impetus behind this, as the article makes clear, is the Conservative government’s need to retain the support of ‘left behind’ areas of the North and the midlands, which returned Tory MPs for the first time at the 2019 general election.

Click to read the article below and then answer the questions:

Gove calls for devolution of control of business rates to England’s mayors

Make sure that you understand the current powers of the metro mayors and the proposals for extending their powers. More details can be found in this FT article:

How soaring popularity of England’s metro mayors has hit devolution

Question in the style of AQA Politics Paper 1

• ‘Devolution should be extended further within England.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.

  In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in Politics. [25 marks]

Question in the style of Edexcel Politics Paper 2

• Evaluate the argument that further devolution should be extended to England.

  In your answer you should draw on relevant knowledge and understanding of the study of Component 1: UK politics and core political ideas. You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. [30 marks]

Graham Goodlad, St John’s College