Mayor welcomes Government commitment to empowering local growth after meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

Mayor welcomes Government commitment to empowering local growth after meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts Metro Mayors from across the United Kingdom in 10 Downing Street. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street. Mayor Dr Nik Johnson, is front left. 

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson has welcomed a commitment from new Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to work with the Combined Authority in powering forward Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Mayor Johnson was one of twelve regional mayors from across the country to meet with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, who underscored a ‘reset’ by Government in how local leaders will be empowered to deliver the change needed by their communities, and to discuss a new partnership approach to the urgent development of regional growth plans.

The Combined Authority is ready to develop, in collaboration with partners, a Local Growth Plan for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough which will unlock the good growth needed to keep one of the only net-contributing local economies to the Exchequer sustainable.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson said: “It’s very refreshing to have a government that’s actually interested in governing, that knows what needs to be done to get this country back on its feet, and that’s serious about working in partnership with local leaders on realising our regions’ collective potential. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are clearly determined to put power and resources where they can best enable economic growth, and as Mayors we are ready to rise to the challenge.”

The Mayor, in collaboration with the Combined Authority Board, will build on those commitments to make the case to Government for the investments Cambridgeshire and Peterborough needs for sustainable growth and a better future for everyone.

Key areas of focus include supporting the region’s growing cities, its market towns and rural areas, sustaining agriculture, improving public transport, upskilling the workforce, advancing renewable energy, decarbonising homes, building homes, tackling inequalities, and improving public health.