{"id":64990,"date":"2015-12-04T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T09:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=69840f842d34c7ed1d8b7149941720f7"},"modified":"2015-12-04T09:00:28","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T09:00:28","slug":"speech-firing-up-the-midlands-engine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=64990","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Firing up the Midlands Engine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Midlands is the heart of England.<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t just mean geographically.<\/p>\n

For centuries the region has been pumping the very lifeblood of the country. <\/p>\n

The Midlands is the home of Shakespeare, Lawrence and Larkin. <\/p>\n

Of Newton, Nightingale and Darwin.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the birthplace of Rolls-Royce, Raleigh and Wedgwood.<\/p>\n

The steam engine emerged from the Midlands to drive an industrial revolution that changed the world forever.<\/p>\n

The power stations of the Trent Valley give the nation heat and light. <\/p>\n

The Great Reform Act, which laid the foundations of our democracy, was born right here in Birmingham.<\/p>\n

The Midlands even gave us Walkers Crisps, Stilton cheese and, of course, that most English of dishes \u2013 the balti!<\/p>\n

From the Shropshire Hills to the Lincolnshire Fens, the Midlands is the home of the people, products, places and idea that make England English. <\/p>\n

That put the Great in Great Britain.<\/p>\n

It boasts a record of achievement that would be the envy of many nations, never mind regions. <\/p>\n

But for too long the Midlands has been less than the sum of its parts. <\/p>\n

Unlike many other areas of the UK it has always lacked sense of place.<\/p>\n

Northerners think it\u2019s in the South.<\/p>\n

Southerners think it\u2019s in the North.<\/p>\n

And Midlanders themselves aren\u2019t really sure either way. <\/p>\n

On the national stage \u2018Midlands\u2019 is too often used as a synonym for the Birmingham conurbation\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026disenfranchising people as far apart as Bromsgrove and Boston. <\/p>\n

And local pride has long trumped any sense of regional identity. <\/p>\n

Sometimes it seems the only thing Derby and Nottingham can agree on is that Brian Clough was a football genius! <\/p>\n

And then they start arguing over which city he liked most\u2026<\/p>\n

This lack of cohesion and identity inevitably leads to underperformance and neglect.<\/p>\n

Between 1997 and 2010, manufacturing output in the Midlands fell from just over \u00a315 billion to just under \u00a312 billion.<\/p>\n

That was the highest percentage fall of any UK region. <\/p>\n

Productivity here is around 10 per cent lower than the national average. <\/p>\n

And in 2013, there were around 25,000 job vacancies in the Midlands that were hard to fill due to a lack of suitably skilled local applicants. <\/p>\n

Together, these figures paint a picture of a region that is not fulfilling its true, incredible, potential. <\/p>\n

As a proud Midlands MP, I\u2019m not prepared to stand by and let that continue. <\/p>\n

Which is why the government fully supports the Midlands Engine. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a cheap knock-off of the Northern Powerhouse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an empty piece of political rhetoric. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a real programme to deliver the jobs, growth and productivity that the people of this region deserve.<\/p>\n

If the Midlands matches the predicted growth rate for the UK over the next 15 years, it could create 300,000 jobs and boost the national economy by \u00a334 billion. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s too big a prize to ignore.<\/p>\n

So let me say how delighted I am to see the region\u2019s 11 local enterprise partnerships coming together to make this vision a reality.<\/p>\n

The prospectus being launched today<\/a> is ambitious, yes.<\/p>\n

The best ideas always are.<\/p>\n

But with the right drive and the right support there is nothing in this plan that cannot be achieved. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s very much locally led, with the people and businesses of the Midlands setting direction and priorities\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026rather than being dictated to from London.<\/p>\n

But the government is right behind you, as you saw in both the Chancellor\u2019s summer Budget and last week\u2019s Autumn Statement.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re providing a \u00a35 million trade and investment package that will help you promote the Midlands Engine overseas\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026reaching new markets and boosting exports.<\/p>\n

Another \u00a35 million has already been made available to develop a long-term transport strategy for the region\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 including the creation of a new Midlands Connect Strategic Board.<\/p>\n

There\u2019ll be a new enterprise zone in Stoke, and existing zones in Birmingham and Derby will be extended.<\/p>\n

The D2N2 LEP<\/abbr> will receive more than \u00a31 million to make sure Derby and Nottingham get the full benefit of the proposed HS2 station at Toton.<\/p>\n

And later this morning I\u2019ll have the honour of opening part of the Energy Research Accelerator here at the University of Birmingham. <\/p>\n

Backed with \u00a360 million of government funding, it will put the Midlands at the heart of international energy research and development.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s more. <\/p>\n

Because the Midlands Engine isn\u2019t just about money.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about attitudes, about a concept.<\/p>\n

About the idea that a region working together is stronger than a handful of counties and cities working in competition. <\/p>\n

Imagine what we can achieve if local authorities pool their ideas, resources and expertise and work together for the benefit of the whole region.<\/p>\n

Imagine what we can do if we harness the power of 25 top universities.<\/p>\n

If we bring together businesses of all sizes to develop new supply chains and exploit new markets. <\/p>\n

Well, we don\u2019t have to imagine it any more.<\/p>\n

Last month we witnessed the signing of the Devolution Deal for the West Midlands Combined Authority.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an historic agreement that will bring disparate councils together and give power back to the people of the West Midlands.<\/p>\n

I look forward to seeing other deals progressing within the Midlands in the near future.<\/p>\n

And today I can announce that, early next year, I will be leading the first ever Midlands Engine overseas trade mission.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year I saw for myself how the Northern Powerhouse trade mission to South East Asia helped to drive trade and inward investment. <\/p>\n

In the weeks ahead my department will be working with Midlands businesses and LEPs<\/abbr> to make this ground-breaking trip just as successful. <\/p>\n

So the government is standing right behind you.<\/p>\n

And not just with warm words. <\/p>\n

This really matters to us because we are Midlands people too. <\/p>\n

At BIS, literally half of our Commons ministers are Midlands MPs. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s myself from Bromsgrove\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026Broxtowe\u2019s Anna Soubry\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and Grantham\u2019s Nick Boles.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re joined today by my colleague from Communities and Local Government, Marcus Jones, the MP for Nuneaton. <\/p>\n

The whole region is represented.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s very important because I can\u2019t stress enough that the Midlands Engine is not just about Birmingham.<\/p>\n

I love Birmingham, it\u2019s a great city.<\/p>\n

Great people, great shopping.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s got a wonderful new station, and the best curry you\u2019ll find anywhere in Britain\u2026 <\/p>\n

Apart from my mum\u2019s kitchen!<\/p>\n

But I know just as well as you that England\u2019s second city is not the beginning and end of the Midlands.<\/p>\n

Nor is this only about one half of the region.<\/p>\n

Let me be very clear, the East Midlands is not some junior partner in this.<\/p>\n

Nottingham, Northampton, Leicester, Lincoln and Derby are just as much a part of the Midlands Engine as Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry. <\/p>\n

The plans set out in this prospectus will only come to fruition if the whole region works together.<\/p>\n

East and West.<\/p>\n

North and South.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big ask, but the rewards are bigger still. <\/p>\n

Now I\u2019ve no doubt that the usual cynics will look at the Midlands Engine and sneer.<\/p>\n

Because they always have done.<\/p>\n

They sneered when Darby built his iron bridge.<\/p>\n

Said he should stick to stone and wood instead.<\/p>\n

They laughed when Whittle said that jet engines could power aircraft.<\/p>\n

Said it could never work.<\/p>\n

And they rolled their eyes when a Lincolnshire grocer\u2019s daughter said she could bring as much to Parliament as any Home Counties gentleman. <\/p>\n

Yet all 3 came from the Midlands, took on the world and changed it forever. <\/p>\n

This region has done it before.<\/p>\n

And we can do it again. <\/p>\n

So let\u2019s bring together local and national government.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s bring together businesses large and small.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s bring together the people who are the future of the Midlands.<\/p>\n

The thinkers and the doers, the builders and the makers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to make this region all it can be. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to fire up the Midlands Engine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Business Secretary Sajid Javid welcomes plans to make the heart of England greater than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64990"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64990\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}