In navigating the economic headwinds ahead, businesses, together with policymakers, can look to UK towns to increase prosperity for communities across the whole of the country.
We said Labour would consolidate rather than make dramatic gains. That proved broadly accurate.
The system deters labour mobility, impedes cutting-edge logistics, constrains growing industries, and prevents businesses from repurposing quickly.
Gove is ready to localise as much either as he wants to or as his colleagues will let him, or both. I hope it’s work in progress.
Some of the arguments for a directly elected or mayoral model seem to be set up against a straw man.
We are the party of mobility and enterprise. But we are also the party of community and belonging. What is it to be – roots or wings?
For all the talk of levelling up ex-industrial towns, the contract for the scheme has been awarded to a mammoth Chinese state-owned company.
This agenda will be absolutely crucial if ‘levelling up’ is ever to become something meaningful to people on the ground.
The Government’s actions are also a sign of confidence in the combined authority model.
The first of a mini-series of pieces on ConHome this week about the most distinctive of the Prime Minister’s big aims.
It now needs to get real. This is clearly the plan in the next few months, starting with the Queen’s Speech tomorrow, leading to the Levelling Up paper.
It’s hard to think that the right future is to be a less research-intensive country than the rest of the world, and so I hope our commitment will endure.
These are areas that have been neglected for many years. The big cities have had rather greater attention for many years.
It will probe whether or or not Sunak can prepare the country for that future – and perhaps succeed Johnson himself, “one fine day”.
The second part of a ConHome series this week on housing and planning in the wake of the Queen’s Speech.