Substantial devolution will help local Labour create jobs
As we pick up the pieces of the Brexit vote, it is clear that now more than ever Labour must demonstrate it can create the jobs of the future.
Our mission to create social justice through work is our defining characteristic as a party.
And the uncertainty following the European Union referendum means Labour councils leading from the front with investment and jobs will not just be something the party can be proud of, but also a vital and significant part of safeguarding our future.
In Newcastle last month we secured a major investment deal with Legal and General to transform land in the city centre into a new home for science and research, a joint project with Newcastle University and the council which paves the way for some 2,000 jobs.
L&G’s investment follows recent announcements that a National Centre for Energy Systems Integration will be built here, the third national centre of excellence secured on Science Central – along with the National Centre for Ageing and Science Innovation, and the National Institute for Smart Data Innovation, as well as the National Centre for Subsea and Offshore Engineering on the banks of the Tyne.
But a word of warning here. Our efforts in job creation will fail if they are limited to just providing the finance or concrete.
Some will rightly question how our efforts to create visionary science jobs on a £350m site has any connection to the plight of those at the bottom of the jobs ladder. They are right to ask. We cannot just sit back and assume office blocks alone will transform our economy. We need many more options open to us if we are to convince people this is their future as well.
We no longer live in a time when people worked in one industry or job for life. By the time today’s schoolchildren have grown up and set out on their career it will increasingly be smaller firms they work for, often in the new digital and technology sectors. Our job as a party is not just to create buildings but to create opportunity for all, so that when voters see local job creation schemes they see a future for themselves and their children.
One of our best tools here is real and substantial devolution. We have seen time and time again national policies, often well intentioned, which fail as a result of central government’s one-size-fits-all approach.
Our locally elected leaders need control of skills funding, for example, because they and the businesses they work with know better than Whitehall where the skills gaps are and who is best placed to address them.
Labour demonstrates this belief in opportunity for all every day in town halls up and down the country. In Newcastle, when the coalition government axed the education maintenance allowance we created our own bursary to offset the damage. This is a small step but one which shows that, when it comes to safeguarding our future, we will not be deterred by this government in our fight for social justice.
Labour in local government has an impressive track record when it comes to creating jobs and opportunities for all, a record we must use to rebuild our party’s reputation for economic competence.
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Nick Forbes is leader of the Local Government Association Labour group and leader of Newcastle city council
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