Autumn Statement: West Midlands must put aside differences and work together like Manchester

LOCAL authorities in the West Midlands need to put aside their differences and work together for the greater good of the region, the new president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce has said.

The West Midlands needed to follow the example set by councils in the North West if they were to attract new investment, said Greg Lowson.

Mr Lowson made his comments following George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, during which he highlighted the support measures being awarded to the so-called “Northern Powerhouse”.

The Chancellor pledged to create a “Northern Powerhouse” with a commitment to boost the economy of the North West through a series of schemes including a £250m Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials Science in Manchester with branches in Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield.

While there was no direct reference to Birmingham or the West Midlands, Mr Osborne referred to the recent devolution deal with Manchester and its elected mayor, and said that while there were no further deals in the pipeline, his door remained open to other cities.

TheBusinessDesk, com’s coverage of the Autumn Statement is brought to you in conjunction with accountancy and advisory firm EY. To read more click here.

Mr Lowson said: “The Chancellor repeatedly mentioned the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ as a brand and commended the 10 local authorities of Greater Manchester for the level of co-operation with each other over devolution.

“Here in the West Midlands, we have not yet joined the devolution party, and there is an increasingly urgent need for us to do so.”

He said that while Birmingham and Black Country had begun moves to join forces on this issue, an invitation extended to other West Midlands councils, such as Coventry, had yet to be answered.

“We desperately need to put aside parochial politics and join forces to restore the ‘Midlands Powerhouse’, in order to put the case to Westminster to devolve to us the right to set our own taxes in this region, including business rates – the Chancellor made it clear today that his door was open to other councils who want to follow Manchester’s example,” he added.

Jan Thompson, Midlands regional chairman, JLL, said: “It’s clear Greater Birmingham can’t come soon enough as once again Manchester comes into the spotlight in the Autumn Statement, with the Chancellor commending its lead on devolution and an elected mayor.  The door is clearly wide open for other cities and we need to act now to ensure our future economic growth, before others steal a march on us.”

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said the Chancellor’s comments represented something of a challenge for the area.

“We heard great mention of Manchester and the northern powerhouse. We heard news of public investment in both technology and the arts in that area,” she said.

“It’s vital, therefore, that this region makes sure it carves a place for itself in this new devolved world that the Government is pressing ahead with.”

She said the chamber would be grasping the nettle when it hosted a debate on this issue at Warwick University on December 10.

“We want future statements and budgets to include this type of investment in Coventry, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. So it’s important that this wider region puts itself on the map when it comes to the Government’s agenda on devolving power because that is clearly where they are looking to invest and the Chancellor said his ‘door was open’ to other places to follow the path that Manchester have taken,” she said.