Whoever wins mayoral race must get down to business

THE countdown has officially begun on the 2024 West Midlands mayoral election.

There’s a hush settling over local authority press rooms as they bunker down for purdah.

A flurry of candidates have stepped forward – five in total so far: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and Reform. Because on May 2, in just five weeks’ time, voters across Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton will have the chance to head to the polls to select our region’s next mayor.

At the Chambers of Commerce, we were pleased to kick off the season just ahead of the official election period with the launch of ‘A Roadmap for Business Growth:

Final Report of the Business Commission West Midlands’.

Last Tuesday we invited over 100 business leaders to hear the findings of this extensively researched rallying call on behalf of the business community.

We also asked two of the candidates for mayor: Richard Parker (Labour) and Andy Street (Conservative) to go head to head in their responses to the findings of the Commission.

There was, as you’d expect, a mix of common ground and disagreement – with the clearest divergence on the candidates’ takes on transport.

There was also a lot of positivity and interest from the candidates in the findings of the Commission and for good reason too.

The Commission has been led by and for the business community. Business growth, and with it, economic growth, is the essential ingredient that all political parties are urgently seeking.

Government debt levels are high, costs are still going up (albeit slights less dramatically with a reduction in inflation) and growing the economy is essential for generating the wealth needed for any Government to be able to invest in meaningfully tackling the big challenges of the day.

The final report of the Business Commission West Midlands is the result of extensive engagement with the region’s business community. Over 400 businesses surveyed, over 130 organisations consulted through evidence hearing and all steered by a panel of private sector leaders (our Commissioners) supported by a selection of leading academic advisors to bring both authenticity and rigour to the work. It is a partnership between the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. The result is detailed – 90 recommendations across local, regional and national government spread over nine sections.

There are some clear golden threads running through the work: ■ The public funded business support ecosystem is too fragmented, complex and ambiguous for businesses to effectively navigate. ■ Greater coordination between agencies and authorities at regional level and enhanced devolution offers a real opportunity to shift the dial, create longer term, simpler structures and support aligned to local business needs.

Businesses need to see a sense of urgency and ambition.

The issues outlined are already hampering growth and risking the UK falling behind in our international competitiveness or missing opportunities to lead the field.

We need to create the conditions for businesses to upscale and grow at every stage of their journeys – whether that is start-ups, scale ups or existing large and multinational players.

The recommendations in this report aim to create that underpinning environment, a roadmap for business growth.

Whoever may win on May 2, we look forward to working with them to make the recommendations a reality and support the growth of this region’s brilliant businesses.

We will also be taking the findings national, with a Parliamentary launch this summer and extensive engagement programme planned behind the scenes.

I’m a big fan of taking the “so what?” approach to work such as this.

One year on (March 2025), we’ll be reconvening to review what impact the Commission has had to date.

But back to the West Midlands Mayoral Election – as a plea, if you can vote, please do so.

I’ve seen first-hand how influential this role is and the impact that decisions made at West Midlands Combined Authority level have on businesses and citizens of the region.

As the manifestos emerge and leaflets come through your door – take a few moments to consider what the candidates are offering.

This is an incredible region – one with challenges, yes, but also one with undeniable strengths and huge potential. Our next West Midlands mayor, whoever they may be, must be an equally incredible champion for its future success.

Businesses need to see a sense of urgency and ambition... we need to create the conditions for businesses to upscale and grow