This was the question the Centre for Cities asked last night at our first fringe event of the party conference season. ‘Good capitalism’ was the theme for the evening, pre-empting Dr Vince Cable’s speech to the Lib Dems earlier today.
The room was packed to the rafters with conference goers who’d gathered to see the high level panel of politicians and city and business leaders. After the Centre for Cities’ Joanna Averley kicked off the fringe, each panel member gave their perspective on ‘good capitalism’.
First to speak was Sir Ian Wrigglesworth who gave us his view on the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). Sir Ian was positive about the RGF and reflected on the competitive bidding process which has encouraged high quality bids from local areas where there is real potential to generate private sector jobs.
Next up was economic commentator Will Hutton who reminded the audience of the challenging macro economic context which sets the scene for our fringe question. Mr Hutton gave us his perspective on the definition of ‘good capitalism’ and reminded us that the Vickers report, which recommended ringfencing retail and commercial banking, has the potential to deliver a banking system which better supports SMEs.
From a city leader’s perspective Cllr Barbara Janke of Bristol City Council talked about how the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has enthused local business and provided a more direct line to Government. Cllr Janke recognised that ensuring housing supply and demand are matched in Bristol is an important issue to address if the city is to continue to grow.
Steve Hollis emphasised the need for the Birmingham and Solihull LEP, which he is deputy chair of, to take responsibility for and develop the big game changing ideas which will secure the economic fortunes of Birmingham and Solihull. Tackling challenges like low skill levels amongst adults, for example, would benefit both local people and businesses.
Finally, Rt Hon Dr Vincent Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke. Dr Cable agreed with us that cities are drivers of growth but rightly recognised that different cities face different economic prospects due to factors like their economic history. Dr Cable then went on to describe some of the Coalition’s policies which will support ‘good capitalism’ in our cities. Top of the list was investment in infrastructure including broadband but also traditional waterways and ports. Also on the list was the mobilisation of private sector investment through initiatives like the Green Investment Bank. Devolution was another key policy – handing cities more powers through policies like LEPs and directly elected mayors and giving them the opportunity to develop locally appropriate solutions.
To round off the event we asked what the Government should do to support growth and fairness in our cities? The panel’s responses included: devolving authority, making a success of the new round of Enterprise Zones, delivering high quality infrastructure and ensuring the LEPs are fit for purpose.
Comments