When the Chancellor unveiled her Spending Review on 11 June, she simultaneously published the Guidance for Mayoral Strategic Authorities on developing Local Growth Plans. These are the key documents to be prepared by the 13 Mayoral regions and are intended to be a major driver for boosting the Government’s growth agenda.
Attracting regional investment requires a specialist approach
Right now, there is an active debate both as to whether the pursuit of economic growth is quite as relevant as politicians proclaim, and also what are the best ways to make it happen. The one area of passionate agreement is that our under-performing northern cities and the infrastructure that supports them need investment.
As it happens two recently published books shed considerable light on the challenges that we face. One is Michael Heseltine’s late-in-life second autobiography ‘From Acorns to Oaks’ in which he describes his various attempts to stimulate the UK’s industrial strategy. The other is ‘Off the Rails’ by Sally Gimson – an account of the perils and predicaments of High-Speed Two.
At one time Heseltine was believed to be the only Conservative politician welcome in Liverpool, and he is credited with having responded positively to the 1981 Toxteth riots. His Garden Festival ensured the clean-up of much derelict land, and he set in motion the steps that led to the re-development of Albert Docks. He played a similarly pivotal role in creating the London Docklands development Corporation. Elsewhere, he pioneered the idea that local authorities should bid for investment funds, but laments that his City Challenge initiative was allowed to lapse by subsequent Ministers.
Thirty years later, he describes his approach:
“Instead of initiatives arising from the functional departments of local authorities, whether they be housing or transport or social welfare, City challenge rested on the concept of a whole community and designed around a particular place - with the active support and participation of its residents. In order to succeed, local departmental officials had to put forward a plan that was comprehensive and strategic in its approach and show that it had been developed and would be delivered with the full support of the local community. Without the support of residents - the local chief constable or the head teacher of the local school - the plan would be meaningless. I have learned that you can't change a whole place unless you have the help of the whole place.”
He is a believer in industrial strategies and, where appropriate, Government intervention to pursue them. In 1992, he told his Party conference:
“If I have to intervene to help British companies… I’ll intervene — before breakfast, before lunch, before tea and before dinner. And I’ll get up the next morning and I’ll start all over again.”
For much of the following thirty years, however, his own Party disagreed with him, and only recently have some of his ideas become fashionable once again. Rishi Sunak’s Local Growth Plans echo Heseltine’s earlier efforts – complete with mandatory stakeholder consultation – and it’s notable that the new Labour Government has retained them and is pushing them strongly. His book is a textbook of how to make these things happen; it should be read by anyone who thinks economic growth is important!
But they should also take account of the downsides of state intervention. Sally Gimson weaves a convoluted narrative of barely credible confusion as successive Governments, at every stage, made matters worse for an ill-defined, unspecified railway project. Even if opinion is divided as to whether HS2 ever made sense, the mission creep, the interminable stop-start hesitations, the rush to agree massive construction contracts to build – despite lacking design – and therefore sound costings - ensure that this will become a fixture in business schools case studies for decades.
But it’s important to learn the right lessons. It’s too easy to blame extravagant boasts by politicians, or Treasury mandarins for their dither and delay. What really damned this project is that they never really agreed what they wanted to build in the first place. And what we need in 2025 is a more rigorous approach to project appraisal and project selection. It’s wider than a narrow ‘Green Book’ approach to calculating the rate of return – it’s looking at the social as well as the economic dimension. We need improvements that are often small and incremental rather than top-down grandiose ventures that take forever.
Westco recognises the role of strategic authorities in working with their own communities, Heseltine-style, to identify turnkey developments that can inspire future generations. We are among the most creative nations on earth; our architects and designers are in demand worldwide; our scientific and engineering skills remain strong. With significant access to AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity and other areas of competitive advantage, world-class universities and a streamlined planning process, what can possibly go wrong?
HS2 shows that mechanics of economic growth can be derailed if the right voices are not heard in the right way at the right time. Mayoral authorities have immense power to convene the tribunes and talents of local communities. They also are large enough to attract investment – from private as well as public sources. Facilitating these dialogues and organising the required participation is a specialist function and will certainly be much needed if success is to be assured.
Author:
Rhion Jones is the co-founder of The Consultation Institute and has been monitoring consultation case law since 2008. He has published 50+ commentaries on specific judicial reviews and delivered over 100 courses on the Law of Consultation. Rhion currently provides government and C-suite advice and guidance under his trading name, The Consultation Guru.
