‘Devolution, but not by default’ was the central theme of the conversation between West Yorkshire business leaders and Prosper UK co-founder Andy Street on Thursday 24 September 2026.
The former Mayor of West Midlands was at Avison Young’s city-centre Leeds office to meet with members and guests of Downtown in Business in the latest leg of his UK listening tour.
The discussion focused on how the new Prime Minister’s mission of ‘growth in every postcode’ could only be realised by a more positive relationship with business and a more prominent voice for the private sector.
“Andy spoke passionately about his belief that devolving power was a sensible ambition” said Downtown’s Martin Liptrot “but he was clear that not every decision should be sent to the Combined Authority and Mayors.”
The former metro mayor rejected the idea of giving far reaching spatial planning powers to city region bosses, preferring a more collaborative approach between Combined and Local Authorities.
A lively conversation about access to capital, recruitment and training, Europe and the need to prioritise transport infrastructure followed over lunch and attendees were left looking forward to forthcoming papers on Energy and Housing from the centre right movement ahead of Tory Conference.
