Shadow Local Government Secretary Sir James Cleverly said Andy Burnham's plans for mayors to keep share of tax collected in their area "will lead to higher taxes, with no guarantee of better outcomes for local people".
He added: “Devolution cannot be imposed from above – it can only work if it’s done in cooperation with local people. But Labour’s regionalist approach takes power away from local communities, sidelining local councils and ignoring local identities.
“What works in Manchester won’t be the same for Essex, Cornwall or Cumbria.”
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride added that it was "another Andy Burnham announcement that makes big claims while being very short on the detail".
He said: “Unless Burnham is going to launch another tax raid elsewhere, borrow even more, or make cuts to central government grant, there is no new money being announced here.
"If local areas which see stronger growth are to end up with more funding, that could mean those who lose out are precisely those areas which have seen weaker local economies over recent years - the opposite of what Andy Burnham claims he wants to achieve."
