Whatever one’s political affiliation, the election result has certainly been a seismic event for the UK and the consequent focus on economic growth should be welcomed by all.
It’s clear that in a challenging financial climate the only way to maintain and improve public services and develop the facilities and infrastructure our society needs is via a vibrant economy.
This means all our places across the UK performing better, creating the best conditions for investment and competing not regionally or nationally but globally. Our regions, cities and towns have not always been as effective as they could be in selling their opportunities and distinctiveness or in some places, not knowing what these are! There often isn’t a shared and forward-looking place story that all sectors of a community can get behind and that needs to change.
The new Government needs to ensure that places are supported in being ‘place led’ in how they develop and promote themselves focussed on achieving attainable economic growth. This means stakeholders coming together to create and own their place story and not relying on local authorities to undertake this with their considerably reduced resources.
Devolution certainly helps this and the early signs of a greater commitment to more local decision making can only be helpful. Hopefully, alongside this where there is opportunity for Government support for place led activity it can largely be in a non-competitive environment. The scenario of Local Authorities chasing funding pots by a bidding process they haven’t the means to deliver has been wasteful and unhelpful.
It’s interesting and perhaps not surprising that ‘Levelling Up’ has been dropped by the new Government. This term and approach did (even if unintended) cause misunderstanding and was often viewed as a focus on the North and Midlands at the expense of London and the South. There must be every effort to grow all the economies of the UK and often the fastest and greatest results come from where there is already a strong economy. Success in these areas helps others, for example research and development in the Oxford to Cambridge Partnership area has created jobs and economic benefits across the UK. We must move away from a view that it is somehow wrong to invest in the South as often this will bring the most immediate gains for UK plc.
Many places are already getting their act together and recognising that growth is place led and comes via collaboration, thinking bigger, co-operating across geographies and through true partnership where the private sector particularly has ‘skin in the game’. However, this needs accelerating and widening quickly if we are to achieve the desired economic growth, hopefully Government policy and actions will help this happen.
