Britain succeeds when the Midlands succeeds, MPs are told
Britain succeeds when the Midlands succeed, MPs were told this morning.
The day after Prime Minister Theresa May delivered her Industrial Strategy Green Paper – promising that business needs would steer the Government’s Brexit negotiations – the discussion at Westminster Hall was about how the Midlands could help ensure Britain’s success outside the EU.
MPs taking part in the debate, secured by Chris White, Member for Warwick and Leamington, on behalf of the Midlands Engine for Growth, heard how the Midlands contributes to UK plc by championing the industrial, commercial, economic and cultural assets of the region.
The aim of the Midlands Engine, backed by 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships and East Midlands Chamber, is to support businesses in the region to realise their full potential and to promote the region to investors, both domestic and overseas, that the Midlands is a great place in which to invest.
The Midlands has a £209.9bn economy, generating 13% of the UK’s Gross Value Added (GVA) and is responsible for almost a quarter of the UK’s total manufacturing capability. About 4.6 million people work in the Midlands, accounting for nearly a fifth of the UK’s economy.
And the region’s universities, science base, global firms and supply chain networks are at the cutting-edge of research and innovation key to driving productivity growth, the MPs heard.
Derby North MP Amanda Solloway told the debate:-
“The success of the Midlands engine is incredibly important to me.
“In 2015, I was in attendance when the previous Chancellor [George Osborne] launched his vision for the Midlands Engine, a 15-year vision for our region.
“All who attended were excited at the potential benefits this plan would have on the region, creating hundreds of thousands more jobs, opening up more trade routes around the globe and making overall improvements to quality of life in the Midlands.
“The vision of boosting our regional economy by £34bn is a target we can reach, but to do so we must come together and cooperate across all sectors, private and public.”
Lillian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South, said:-
“The Midlands Engine is all of us who stand up together to develop, promote and attract people to come to us to study, work and live in the East Midlands.”
She spoke at length about the benefits HS2 would bring to the region but then criticised Government for not committing to full electrification of the Midland Main Line rail route, which she described as “simply not good enough”.
Chris White, who led the debate, said that:-
“Developing a local identity can be a catalyst for success” but that advanced engineering, research and development and closing the skills gap would be integral to regional success.
Chris Hobson, Director of Policy at East Midlands Chamber, said after the debate:-
“We know what our strengths are in the East Midlands. What we need to do is make sure we realise the full potential of those strengths with investment from Government to support inward investment to the region and in infrastructure and connectivity such as HS2 and electrification of Midland Main Line.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the Industrial Strategy Green Paper with a strong focus on the Northern Powerhouse but the Midlands is the manufacturing and innovation backbone of the UK and that is a strength that the Government should be selling around the world.
“We have seen Government talk the talk, now is the time for it start walking the walk by delivering a full package of support for the Midlands Engine to ensure not only that it is attractive to investors but also that the support exists to help regional companies which want to diversify and start exporting.
“Midlands businesses are driving the economy and it’s time that Government recognised the achievements of regional firms and, through the Midlands Engine, backed their endeavours with a full package of support.”
