Andy Street, chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), says that a combined single authority representing the cities, boroughs and districts of the West Midlands must have the word ‘Birmingham’ in its title. Speaking at his LEP’s annual conference, he criticised plans for the consortium to be named the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The issue came up when members of the public attending the event asked for the views of Mr Street and special guest Lord Heseltine.
Mr Street said: “Birmingham has to be in the name of the combined authority. I can’t imagine that we would ever hear Munich referred to as Greater Bavaria.”
“Lord Heseltine warned the conference that central Government will be taking “a huge risk” giving the region responsibility for its own destiny. “The blame, should it go wrong, will come back to them. They want to be sure that there will be an effective and accountable local machine.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has told the region that, if it wants to “stand before Whitehall as a single entity”, it will have to be headed by a directly elected metropolitan mayor. However, many commentators say that the problem is the lack of a candidate capable of leading a combination of local authorities and engaging with and inspiring the local communities.
Lord Heseltine said Birmingham’s attempts to match Manchester as a leader of an “industrial powerhouse are “unrealistic” as the latter has been “honing its model for the last 20 years and is now reaping the benefits of a united approach”. However, he said that “a united Birmingham and the wider region” could be a great success.
He added: “Tell Whitehall that the central machine isn’t up to the job of deciding what’s best for Birmingham and show them how you can change things; I think you will find the mandarins receptive. I feel that there’s a great appetite for change across the country; implementing it will be a challenge, but there’s plenty of momentum being gathered to turn the fate of local government away from Whitehall. Don’t wait to be asked what you want, go up and tell them; and tell them how you could do it better.”