The Deputy Prime Minister spoke at the Devolution White Paper announcement during a visit to West Yorkshire.
I'm absolutely delighted to be here with you today.
It's a moment that I know many of us have been waiting for, for a long time.
The turning point when people and places across England finally begin to take back control over the things that matter to them.
When our proud towns and cities are given the powers they need to drive growth and raise living standards - as part of this Government's Plan for Change.
I was delighted to stand alongside Keir as he announced our Plan, just over a week ago.
It's a plan for putting more money in people's pockets.
A plan for putting politics back in the service of working people.
A plan for stability, investment and reform, not chaos, austerity and decline.
And it's a plan that will deliver a decade of national renewal.
Our devolution agenda is central to this - and to the first of our five missions to kickstart economic growth.
We've already taken important steps towards this.
We have taken tough decisions in the Budget to stabilise the economy - preventing a return to austerity, while protecting working people's payslips and freeing up tens of billions of pounds of investment in Britain's future.
We have established a National Wealth Fund - and just last week announced reforms to our planning rules to get Britain building and the 1.5 million homes that we need.
As we publish the English Devolution White Paper today, we are taking another step towards relighting the fire in our great regions.
Our aim is to create an economy, and a society that works for everyone, by tapping into the incredible talent that exists in all parts of our country.
And where better to be marking this milestone than here in Leeds, at the fantastic Nexus innovation hub - which brilliantly bridges the gap between business and academia.
The backdrop here would have once been towering mills and chimneys. And now places like Leeds are proudly forging a future as bright as their industrial past.
In doing so, they not just powering growth and better jobs for our communities…
But as Gordon Brown argued so powerfully in this very place two years ago - they are also restoring faith in our democracy, by once and for all putting "the right powers in the right places".
And Leeds is not alone on this journey.
Just look at what our amazing mayors have been up to here today and what they have already achieved.
A multi-billion pound 10-year growth plan in West Yorkshire with Tracy.
Oxford Street regeneration in London with Sadiq.
Publicly-owned battery trains in Liverpool with Steve.
Buses under local control in Greater Manchester with Andy.
Opportunities for unemployed young people in the West Midlands with Richard.
New clean energy jobs in the East Midlands with Claire.
North Yorkshire on a path to be England's first carbon negative region with David.
The Investment Zone in Tees Valley turbocharging the digital, creative sectors with Ben.
Families supported out of poverty in the North East with Kim.
Nature recovering in the West of England with Dan.
Health-led employment programmes in South Yorkshire with Oliver.
And life sciences and a new university unlocked in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with Nik.
These achievements are proof we must go further than ever. And through our devolution reforms today, we will back our Mayors to deliver even more.
And it's about time.
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That's what happens when you spend a decade pitting communities against each other.
Now the foundations of a good life are crumbling.
And it's no wonder.
Our country is the most centralised in Europe.
With too many decisions affecting too many people made by too few.
Add in micromanaging by central government…
and short-term, sticking-plaster politics…
and you've got a doom loop of real problems going unaddressed in Britain's regions.
There's huge potential that's unrealised.
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With the great John Prescott laying the groundwork for the devolution model we know today.
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While other parts have missed out. Well, no more.
With our Plan for Change, we're turning the page on an economy that hoards potential, and a politics that hoards power.
It's time for a completely new way of governing.
One that unites public and private sectors, at all levels of government, business and unions, and the whole of civil society in a shared purpose.
We're serious about this.
Within days of the election, one of the first things the Prime Minister and I did was welcome England's mayors to Downing Street.
We can't bring about the change and the national renewal that we were elected to deliver without them.
That's why I am wasting no time in handing more powers and the skills to those people with skin in the game to drive real, sustained change for every region.
Devolution will no longer be agreed by the whim of a Minister in Whitehall. It will now be default in our constitution.
We're moving away from an ad hoc system, and towards a simpler and more ambitious framework for devolution.
We will make it clear which powers go with which type of authority.
We will bring new efficiency and accountability to local and regional government.
And we will truly empower the local champions who understand their area, its identity, its strengths, and how to harness them.
It sounds simple but it has never been done.
But ultimately, our aim is mayoral devolution over areas of genuine strategic scale. And to create 'strategic authorities' as a new tier of local government to give our cities and regions a bigger voice.
I understand that devolution is a journey. Some will need time to decide the course they wish to follow, and we will give local leaders time and space to do this.
But our ambition is clear - we want to fill the map with devolution.
Our manifesto pledged to give everyone access to devolved power. So I will legislate for a new power of ministerial directive - which will allow central government to knock heads together and create strategic authorities when local leaders cannot agree.
And as well as broadening devolution across England, we're also deepening it
Today I am announcing unprecedented new powers for mayors - equipping them with stronger levers to drive growth in their communities.
Mayors will be hardwired into the fabric of how we govern, and will lead the way on housebuilding, transport, skills and more.
Too often, Mayors' hands are tied by Whitehall - even when it comes to allocating their own budgets. So we will create a clear and transparent route for all Mayoral Combined Authorities to receive an Integrated Settlement.
This means moving resources between projects that matches what their people need.
We will give mayors new powers over strategic planning and new call-in powers - so they can build the homes we need and plan for growth on a larger scale.
And we will get Mayors working more closely with Homes England to unlock new homes. The most mature areas will be able to set the strategic direction of any future Affordable Homes Programme.
We will devolve future funding to support regeneration and housing delivery…
And we will consolidate adult skills funding, introducing joint ownership of the Local Skills Improvement Plan, and new routes to influence 16-19 provision.
We will devolve funding to support economically inactive people into work…
…And funding for retrofit will be included in integrated settlements by the end of the Parliament.
We will also create a statutory role for Mayors in governing the rail network, with a right to request on rail devolution.
This all means easier commutes across more joined-up transport links, new homes properly connected to local infrastructure, and skills provision that matches local job opportunities.
But we aren't stopping there. We are also going to integrate Police and Crime Commissioner functions and strengthen their role in Integrated Care Systems.
We will give local people more of a say over what matters to them by strengthening protections for cherished local community assets and high streets.
And we are fixing the foundations of local government through reform, fairer funding and responsible stewardship.
Including through multi-year funding settlements - ending the farcical bidding wars for ringfenced funding pots.
And we will facilitate a bold programme of unitarisation, creating simpler, sustainable structures, and more accountable politicians.
On top of this, Whitehall won't interfere unnecessarily in local decision making. There really is no good reason for ministers to sign-off cattle grids or new cycle lanes.
We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power.
So, our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation, empowering those communities to realise their potential.
No other Government has been this ambitious about devolution.
A mission that binds all departments across Government.
A long-term mission over generations, rather than a short-term fix.
It's about change at every level that will give communities the tools to shape their futures.
And give councils the certainty to plan, prioritise and move from crisis-management to prevention.
That will give mayors - accountable local leaders, single-mindedly focused on delivering for local people - real powers to drive growth and higher living standards.
Change that people can see and feel in their lives.
Change that taps into the huge potential and pride that's not just here in Leeds, but in every part of our country.
Change that puts politics back in the service of working people.
This is our Plan for Change - and, together, this is what we will deliver.
