As Minister for the West Midlands, I recently undertook a groundbreaking programme of policy development by the West Midlands Labour party. Alongside Gordon Brown’s appointment of regional ministers, we decided to embark on a region-wide programme of policy discussion about Labour’s priorities in the West Midlands for the years to come. Over 300 party members and trade unionists took part in seven regional events. My thanks go to all of them.
Over the next five years, Labour will provide around £120bn of public spending in the West Midlands – equivalent to 25 per cent of our economy. The purpose of the policy discussions, and the resulting paper, was to make sure that we provide leadership in the way that money is spent, transforming possibilities for people in our region, no matter where they are or what cards they have been dealt. Our ambition is simple.
At the heart of our debate has been a clear sense that we need to give families the key to better jobs and wages plus the key to a decent, affordable home.
Four big ideas stand out:
Firstly, we must put science at the heart of growth and new jobs. Our universities must take centre-stage in our plans for growth. Their expansion is to be welcomed. Science-based growth will be key to powering forward high-quality, high-skill, high-value manufacturing, and blazing a trail for the region in new sectors, like medical technologies, environmental technologies and services, and IT and digital media.
Secondly, we must revolutionise our skills. We need access to lifelong learning in a world where there are few lifelong jobs. There must be a seamless link between schools, colleges and universities. There must be a revolution in vocational education. It must start earlier. It must last a lifetime. It must become a real choice for the aspirational. Apprenticeships must be expanded. And our new schools and colleges must not be fenced off from the communities they serve: they must be their lifeblood.
Thirdly, we want balanced, new communities which not only give people a choice of home, but put that choice within easier reach. We want to give those who need homes a choice of tenure. Affordability must be a reality, but it is an idea that demands clarity. A big share of the new homes we build must be genuinely in reach of those on low and medium incomes. New homes must be high-quality. Growth across the region must be balanced. We should build on brownfield land first. Local leaders must ensure health, education and transport are built in to plans upfront. And we need more power over developers to ensure affordable homes are delivered.
Fourthly, we must transform the region’s transport to help fuel growth. We need investment in our major infrastructure projects – like New Street, Birmingham Airport and the Metro, along with sub-regional projects. Service quality must be high. Affordability – especially for young people and on short journeys – must be addressed. Transport must link us to and from work – at the times we work in the modern economy. We need to make green travel easier. We need to transform integration between bus and rail.
These ideas will now help shape how some £25bn of public spending in the West Midlands through regional plans for new jobs, including £2.2bn which will be directly spent by Advantage West Midlands (its regional development agency). The Regional Assembly’s plans for new homes, transport links and a better environment for the region will are out for consultation over the next 12-18 months. Although the region’s plans are required to go through further stages, we can use immediately the evidence, the ideas and the direction that has been set.
Crucially, in May-June 2008, the government will finalise the three year delivery agreements with councils and other public agencies across the region. We now have two opportunities to take these ideas forward.
Nationally, the Labour party is consulting on a final set of National Policy Forum documents. The discussions and conclusions which we have developed are a rich source of ideas for influencing this national discussion.
Second, we will publish a more detailed follow-up discussion document to this paper ahead of the summer, setting out some of more specific ideas to take forward our agenda, ahead of our regional Labour party conference in Malvern on 25 and 26 October 2008. I hope to see many of you there.