Can Mayor win ‘gold’ for Team West Midlands?
GIVEN that Team GB came second in the medals table of the Olympics in front of China, there are lots of reasons to celebrate.
In the same way the Midlands should receive gold for being the workshop of the world and birth place of the industrial revolution.
Birmingham is the second city of the UK which has continued its Cinderella like transformation.
The region’s councils of Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton and Coventry have agreed to pool their powers to create “West Midlands Combined Authority” (“WMCA”).
The question is really how effective will the WMCA be for the region? Will the WMCA enable regional growth to continue within the Midlands in order to allow the region to be placed on the podium of economic development in front of other parts of the UK?
In conjunction with the WMCA, there will also be a post for a directly appointed Mayor. The Mayor will have various powers devolved to him directly as well as being the chairman on the WMCA.
Given that the various councils will pool their budgets and resources into the WMCA, they too will want to influence budget allocation in order that they can demonstrate benefits gained to their constituents rather than just to be presided over by the Mayor.
There is speculation that PM Theresa May may not want the directly appointed Mayor to have the sweeping powers of the Mayor of London, but instead to adopt a collaborative role of chairman over the WMCA.
This could simply be because the PM feels there is a risk that Labour moderates such as Andy Burnham (who is seeking appointment as Manchester Mayor) and Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London), may be given a larger platform to change the policy of the Government.
The Mayor needs to be a person with character and personality such that he/she can ensure the WMCA speaks with one voice and ensures that it is loud enough to be heard nationally and internationally so that the “Midlands Engine” is as well-known as the “Northern Powerhouse”.
If the Mayor achieves this goal he/she will ensure the Midlands attains the golden medal for the region and firmly establishes the slogan of “Midlands Engine” in peoples’ psyche. Colin Rodrigues is head of the corporate team at Hawkins Hatton