Labour to end barmy rules which mean Whitehall bureaucrats can dictate what parks get benches

LABOUR will today pledge the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster ever.

Lisa Nandy will slam barmy rules that mean bureaucrats in Whitehall meddle in where park benches are built and how chewing gum is scraped off the street.

The shadow levelling-up secretary said this “hoarding of power” in London is leaving local communities powerless and their economies lagging behind.

She said: “Britain is almost unique in trying to power a modern economy using only a handful of people in a handful of sectors in a few parts of the country.

“For years the plan for the rest of us has amounted to just one word – redistribution.

“Today we’re calling time on this tired, failed approach. No longer will we write off the assets, talent and potential of most people in most parts of Britain.

“If we want properly funded services so we can care for our sick and elderly, an end to the housing crisis, and young people to have choices and chances so they don’t have to get out to get on, every one of us in every part of Britain has to play our part.”

Research has uncovered a growing trend of Whitehall bosses micromanaging little projects in towns, Labour said.

A new public bench near Stockport needed the approval of the government’s central towns fund.

While a ‘chewing gum task force’ was set up by Whitehall last year.

The Department for Transport decided who should receive cash for the maintenance of local traffic lights.

The Local Government Association found that in the four years to 2019, there were at least 448 separate funding pots for councils to bid for.

Last month, Tory West Midlands Mayor Andy Street called for an end to the “begging bowl” culture of funding for local projects.

He lashed out amid a furious row over the winners and losers of the latest round of levelling up funding.