General Election 2015: West Midlands will be an economic powerhouse says Prime Minister

THE Prime Minister has said the West Midlands has a strong case for combating the impact of the so-called Northern Powerhouse.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com during his last visit to the West Midlands ahead of next week’s General Election, David Cameron said a re-positioning of the economic base away from its focus on London favoured the region and the second city above all others.

He said much of the benefits would be derived from the introduction of the HS2 high speed rail line – and he dismissed fears that the proposed £50bn service would eat up too much of the country’s transport budget.

“It’s very important that we go ahead with a project that’s important for the future of our country,” he said.

“The thing I would say to people worried that it will take up too much budget is that in the next parliament we are going to invest three times more in other road and rail schemes including here in the West Midlands as we are in HS2.

“HS2 is not pushing other schemes out – look at the huge investment going into New Street Station for example.”

He said people had to ask themselves who they thought was going to safeguard the economy and make sure it keeps growing.

“Our plan for the Midlands is to ensure that we create another 300,000 jobs during the next Parliament,” he said.

“The West Midlands is a powerhouse and the combination of the industrial regeneration and I would argue, the investment in high speed rail and other transport links is going to make the West Midlands and Birmingham even stronger.

“I think what we are talking in terms of the northern powerhouse linking the cities of the north together is good news for Birmingham because re-balancing the economy from outside of London towards the rest of the country means the Midlands will have a pivotal role to play.

“When you look at the next stages of HS2, yes there is a massive capacity increase between London and Birmingham in stage one but look at the increase in capacity and journey times that come between Leeds and Birmingham, from Nottingham to Birmingham, from Manchester to Birmingham and you can see that Birmingham and the West Midlands’ pivotal role in the British economy in my view can grow even stronger.

“I have seen as PM that you have got the Jaguar Land Rover story, you’ve got the wider automotive industry story, you’ve got the success of the universities, the growth of Birmingham Airport and then add to that these vital transport improvements and I think there is a very exciting future for the West Midlands and Britain’s second city.”   

After paying a visit to Longbridge, Mr Cameron then attended Coleshill-based automotive supplier Sertec, where he announced his party’s new pledge on taxation. The visit was part of a tour of the marginal constituency of North Warwickshire – a seat which he said would be crucial to determining the outcome of the General Election.

During his visit to Sertec he was met by business leaders from across the region.

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce president Peter Burns, former president Amrik Bhabra and partnership and policy manager Angela Tellyn were in the factory to hear Mr Cameron’s speech.

Afterwards they handed him the British Chambers of Commerce Business Plan for Britain, which has been produced as a ‘manifesto’ for business in the run up to polling day.

Ms Tellyn said: “It was a great opportunity to hear from David Cameron ahead of the election but we also wanted to get the opportunity to get across what businesses want from the next Government.

“We hand-delivered the BCC’s Business Plan for Britain to Mr Cameron but also got the chance to have a brief chat with him before the event came to a close.”

She added: “The chamber is not a party political organisation but one that stands up for businesses across all sectors and of all sizes.

“From our point of view, the most important thing the next Government can deliver is clear, business friendly policies that set the right conditions for companies across Coventry and Warwickshire to expand and create more jobs.”