Downtown in Business Group Chair and Chief Executive Frank McKenna reports on DIB’s recent Northern Power Towns Parliamentary Reception in Westminster – and the growing frustration of Lancashire business leaders at the lack of progress on the long-standing issue of establishing an elected mayor for the Red Rose County.
For years, Lancashire has proudly positioned itself as one of the economic powerhouses of the North of England. From advanced manufacturing and aerospace to energy, logistics, professional services, and a thriving visitor economy, the county has all the ingredients needed to compete with the very best regions in the UK.
Yet today, there is a growing sense that Lancashire is standing at the station whilst the devolution train pulls away.
At Downtown in Business’ recent Northern Power Towns parliamentary reception in Westminster, there was genuine excitement from business leaders and civic representatives from Cheshire and Cumbria about the prospect of elected mayors, devolved powers, and a stronger voice in Whitehall. By contrast, many Lancashire delegates expressed frustration that their county still appears unable to get its act together on devolution.
The question now being asked in Westminster and increasingly in business circles is simple: is Lancashire really prepared to become the only part of the North West without a mayoral combined authority?
If the answer is yes, the consequences could be profound.
Whatever critics of metro mayors may say, the evidence from Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and the Liverpool City Region is increasingly clear. Areas with devolved powers and high-profile mayors are securing greater influence, more investment, stronger transport settlements, enhanced skills funding, and a direct line into government.
In politics, visibility matters. In economic development, influence matters even more.
Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram, Tracy Brabin and Richard Parker are not simply figureheads. They are now major players in national policy discussions around transport, housing, regeneration, inward investment, skills, and infrastructure. They can convene government ministers, global investors, and business leaders in a way that fragmented local authority structures simply cannot.
Meanwhile, Lancashire risks becoming isolated.
The county’s leaders have spent too long arguing over governance models, boundaries, and political turf wars whilst neighbouring regions have been getting on with the job. Businesses are increasingly impatient. Investors want clarity. Government wants simplified structures. The private sector wants decisive leadership.
Instead, Lancashire often appears divided, cautious, and unable to speak with one coherent voice.
That matters because the next decade will see fierce competition for public and private investment. Major infrastructure funding, housing support, innovation investment, transport upgrades, and strategic regeneration programmes are all likely to favour places with strong devolved governance arrangements.
Without a mayor and combined authority, Lancashire risks losing out on influence, funding, and profile.
This is not about civic vanity or political empire-building. It is about economic competitiveness.
A Lancashire mayor could champion Preston, Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley, Lancaster, and the county’s towns and cities on the national and international stage. They could drive a coordinated economic strategy, lobby effectively for infrastructure investment, align skills provision with business needs, and provide a single powerful voice for the county.
Lancashire has significant assets world-class aerospace capability, leading universities, energy opportunities, growing tech sectors, and an enviable geographic position. But assets alone are not enough. In today’s political and economic climate, places need leadership structures capable of matching ambition with delivery.
The irony is that Lancashire should be leading the devolution agenda – not lagging behind it.
There is still time to change course. But time is running short.
If Lancashire fails to secure a meaningful devolution settlement whilst the rest of the North West moves forward, the county may discover that standing still in modern Britain actually means falling behind.
