New think tank to lobby for the West Midlands
MP to lead forum to fight for region
APOWERFUL new campaigning group has been launched to fight for the West Midlands at Westminster and ask how the region can succeed in the future.
Former Cabinet Minister Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, is to co-chair the West Midlands Forum, which is designed to bring together politicians, business leaders, academics and faith leaders.
It has the backing of senior politicians from across the region, including Birmingham Council leader Ian Ward, Wolverhampton MP Pat McFadden and Coventry MP Colleen Fletcher.
It is also backed by Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said: “Regions like the West Midlands need to speak with a strong, unified and authoritative voice.
“This new forum will bring together business, politics, trade unions, academia, faith leaders and the creative sector to make sure that voice is heard.”
The North of England already has a number of bodies dedicated to fighting its corner, and there has been concern that the Midlands could lose the battle for influence at Westminster, and for the funding that often accompanies it.
Think tanks dedicated to the North include IPPR North and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
Conservative MPs have also created a body called the Northern Research Group, to push for investment and greater devolution.
In the Midlands, Conservative MPs are now in the process of setting up an equivalent body, which has not formally been launched.
Mr Byrne’s forum, which he describes as both a think tank and a campaign, aims to bring together people from different backgrounds but is run by Labour politicians, who also include Rajbir Singh, leader of Sandwell Borough Council.
The West Midlands Forum is set to publish a report looking at the decade ahead for the region on January 14, and this will be followed by reports on the creative economy in the region and Green Manufacturing.
And to accompany its launch, it has produced an analysis of recent spending announcements by the Treasury, which found that the West Midlands is receiving less funding than much of the North.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his Autumn Budget that the region would receive £196 million from the Government’s levelling up fund, to pay for projects such as the refurbishment of Moseley Baths in Balsall Heath, Birmingham.
The region has also received funding from the Government’s Towns Fund.
In total, it has received £552 million – but this is significantly less than the
£738 million allocated to the North East.
Yorkshire and the Humber received £608 million while the East Midlands received £585 million.
At the same time, the West Midlands Forum has calculated the funding per person received from the Levelling Up Fund in the budget.
For the West Midlands this came to £33 per person – less than the funding going to the East Midlands, Scotland, the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside.
Mr Byrne also highlighted what he says is slow progress establishing a car battery gigafactory planned for Coventry, although Andy Street, the Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands, argues that progress is being made.
Mr Byrne said: “It’s crystal clear our region has to step up the fight to get our fair share – and last week’s budget proved it.
“The frustration over the failure to establish a gigafactory to support our car industry is just one example of where the West Midlands is in danger of being forgotten.
It’s crystal clear our region has to step up the fight to get our fair share
Liam Byrne MP (Lab, Hodge Hill)
“The West Midlands Forum will be both a think tank and a campaign.”
He pointed out that the Conservativeled government in 2010 abolished regional structures created by Labour, including the post of West Midlands Minister.
He said the West Midlands Combined Authority, created under the Conservatives and chaired by the mayor, was a poor substitute.
Mr Byrne said: “The shutdown of the old regional development agency and the abolition of regional Ministers, has left a massive gap in regional planning which, with the best will in the world, the Combined Authority is being shortchanged to cover.”
He added: “When the latest forecasts show our region’s economy is set to lag behind the rest of the country and we face hundreds of thousands of job losses in manufacturing, we’ve got to redouble our fight for the region’s future.”
Cllr Ward, one of the new Forum’s patrons, said: “The West Midlands Forum will give a voice to our region on the national stage, and I look forward to collaborating with partners from business, academia and civil society to work towards a brighter future for us all.”