YP Comment: Local leadership and Industrial Strategy are linked

THERESA May and her Cabinet can't be blamed for launching the Government's new Industrial Strategy in the North West '“ Ministers are clearly exasperated by this region's inability to strike a devolution deal and Yorkshire can expect further snubs if the deadlock persists.
Theresa May and the Cabinet arrive in the North West to launch the Government's Industrial Strategy.Theresa May and the Cabinet arrive in the North West to launch the Government's Industrial Strategy.
Theresa May and the Cabinet arrive in the North West to launch the Government's Industrial Strategy.

That said, it would be churlish not to acknowledge the Prime Minister’s recognition, albeit six and a half months into her premiership, that it is regional economies which will drive forward her One Nation agenda and ensure more young people have the chance to realise their dreams.

This is not a repeat of the state interventionism which underpinned economic policy in the 1970s. Nor is it a rebranding of Margaret Thatcher’s laissez-faire approach towards the regions; it’s a deliberate attempt to target assistance at those niche hi-tech economies which have the greatest growth opportunities.

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As Brexit looms, Britain will have to innovate and it would be remiss of Mrs May not to prepare now for the day when Britain leaves the European Union by presiding over a skills revolution which sees this generation become the most qualified in history.

Yet, while it’s important that there is a closer focus to the delivery of policy objectives, the limited additional funding for technical education won’t help young adults in sufficient numbers – or offset the cuts to local colleges in recent years. In this regard, the Government needs to be far more ambitious when it comes to skills. It also needs to accelerate key transport schemes, namely improvements to the trans-Pennine railway. However, as Ministers have implied, the success or otherwise of regional economies does depend on the calibre of local leadership, even more reason why Yorkshire’s politicians and council chiefs need to think again on devolution. They don’t have time on their side.

Flood of concerns

GIVEN that infrastructure improvements and, specifically, flood defences are the third element of Theresa May’s 10-point Industrial Strategy, it’s unfortunate that yesterday’s launch by the Prime Minister preceded publication of another report accusing the Government of not doing enough to protect those properties most at risk from rapidly rising water.

Yet, while Ministers and local authorities will always disagree on whether enough money is being spent, and the extent to which Yorkshire has paid the price for extra money made available for the Thames Valley and Home Counties, it’s disappointing that Defra and the Environment Agency – the Whitehall bodies responsible for policy – are not doing enough to spend existing funds more effectively. It is their public duty to do so.

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They should be giving the Environment Agency the right to veto planning applications proposed for flood-risk areas; they should be ensuring that all new homes and business premises are flood-proofed from the outset; they should be making sure that developers are financially liable if they breach planning conditions and the powers-that-be should be appointing a National Floods Commissioner to ensure that the EA works in tandem with regional bodies. None of these recommendations from the Environment Select Committee need bankrupt the Defra budget – the only significant outlay will be giving fire and rescue services additional responsibilities when flooding occurs. If Ministers and officials can’t recognise that these measures are basic common sense, they shouldn’t be in the job.

Words of wisdom

“A BOOK is a device to ignite the imagination.” This assertion by the venerable Leeds playwright, author and man of words Alan Bennett has never been more prescient after it emerged that one in 10 households is now a book-free zone as a result of the digital technology takeover. This soul-destroying statistic offers little comfort to those who believe a love of literature is one of the greatest gifts of all – electronic devices are no substitute whatsoever.

Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime leader (and celebrated author), once said: “If you cannot read all your books – fondle them – peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them, at any rate, be your acquaintances.” If only more people, and parents in particular, cherished these priceless words of wisdom.