The next government must commit to continuing devolution and give even more autonomy to the regions, according to Metro Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram.

Mr Burnham, Metro Mayor for Greater Manchester, said: “After the May elections, 90 per cent of the north will have a mayor and a combined authority, 90 per cent is a very different picture to the one that faced the last incoming Labour government. So, they’ve got to go with it.”

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said his message to Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer would be: “Do levelling up properly or scrap the whole thing.”

In response to a question from Liverpool Health Partners, both mayors said the life sciences sector is crucial to Liverpool and Manchester to create jobs and help fight the crippling health inequalities the region faces.

Mr Rotheram said the talent in the sector in Liverpool should be recognised nationally and should be used to contribute to the effort to turn around life expectancy in the city and solve health issues. More devolution could only be good for the sector.

He said the potential for areas like Liverpool and Manchester is huge while London has been allowed to “become the epicentre of everything for the country” which he said was causing problems.

“If you take London out the equation, then this country is a very, very poor country. In fact, if we were to join the United States, we would be the 51st richest state in America. That’s how poor it is,” he added.

The Metro Mayors were speaking at an Audience With event at The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn to discuss their recently published book Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain.

During the evening guests heard a special video message from Lord Michael Heseltine, regarded as the key figure who was instrumental in beginning the regeneration of Liverpool in the wake of the 1981 Toxteth riots. The former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister was also dubbed the Minister for Merseyside and has said that his work in the city ranks as his greatest achievement. He was subsequently made a Freeman of the City of Liverpool in 2012.

The audience, including businesses leaders, business organisations, health organisations and local political leaders, heard that both Mayors want to see big reforms in the way that Central Government operates.

Mr Burnham said that “Britain needs its political wiring fixed so that power flows evenly and fairly and comprehensively across all parts of the country”.

He said the country needed a national Parliament but that the way it has treated local government is appalling. He added: “You need a national system of government, but it needs to do what it needs to do and not do everything. As Michael (Heseltine) was saying in the video, it’s trying to do everything. It’s trying to run everything, and it has decimated local government.”

Mr Rotheram also criticised the country’s two-tier political system at Westminster.

He said: “Regional disparity needs to be addressed and one of the suggestions in the book in the second half is how we can go about that, how you could change the second chamber to better reflect the regions and nations of this country.”

He added: “The question is, how do we create a more functional country that’s fair to everybody everywhere.”

The mayors told the audience that both cities had major programmes including a ground-breaking digital connectivity in Liverpool with high speed fibre link to North America; big new rail announcements on the way for Liverpool and  Manchester and proposals in Greater Manchester to introduce an alternative to university education with a new course pathway taking young people through T levels and apprenticeships, and even degree level apprenticeships, at the same level as a degree, but without any debt.

The mayors also believe their pioneering Net Zero aspirations are so advanced with the North-West’s natural assets, they can not only become Net Zero but also become a net exporter of green energy in the 21^st century. They both backed life sciences in the region to create jobs and improve health.

John Lewis MBE, owner of The Heath Business and Technical Park, who hosted the audience with the Mayors, said afterwards: “Since Steve and Andy became Metro Mayors, they have had to lead Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester through a global pandemic, a war in Europe, 13 consecutive interest rate rises, an energy crisis to match the 1970s and double-digit inflation, in addition to the Manchester bombing and Government intervention with the running of Liverpool.

“What they have achieved to date is truly remarkable but imagine what could be achieved with a few quieter years, so we can see their visions grow and benefit us without such disruptions?”

Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain is published by Orion Publishing Group