EXCLUSIVE: Mayor hopeful Tony Lloyd calls for devolution of £1billion fuel tax to Greater Manchester

Fuel duties raised £22.6bn in England in 2014-15. Credit: PA

Mayor hopeful Tony Lloyd has told Granada Reports he wants the estimated £1.1 billion in tax revenues raised from fuel duty to be fully devolved to Greater Manchester.

Mr Lloyd, who is currently running to be Labour's candidate in the mayoral contest, says devolving the money to the region means the people here can best decide how and where it is spent, rather than by central government.

The Treasury currently collects fuel duties, which raised £22.6billion in England in 2014-15. HMRC does not estimate revenues on a regional basis, but Tony Lloyd says based on a population and the amount of miles travelled in Greater Manchester each year, he estimates the sum to be around £1.1 billion.

He will make the announcement at a hustings event for Labour members in Manchester on Tuesday night and outline where he would invest the windfall. The former Manchester Central MP will appear alongside MPs Andy Burnham and Ivan Lewis, who are also running to become Labour's mayoral candidate.

Labour will announce the successful candidate on August 8th.

A senior member of Tony Lloyd's campaign team told ITV Granada the announcement "will have implications for the UK Government and other devolution areas."

"This move will radically change the nature of the debate on devolution for the benefit of residents in Greater Manchester.

"This (plan) will have the backing of the public and make relevant the case for devolution and radically change the agenda from campaign promises to delivery."