After the General Election on July 04, the UK Labour Party won a significant majority and have formed the new government.
What can we expect to see over the next few weeks?
I’ve outlined the main implications of the Labour Party Manifesto for local economic development here. This includes the 5 missions, the push for economic growth and stability, enhanced devolution powers, skills initiatives, and 650,000 green jobs.
Firstly, we are likely to see much clearer objectives, and some cross-whitehall and cross-stakeholder working through the proposed Mission based approach.
Secondly the economic challenges facing many local economies are serious, and require long term programmes of investment. I’ve written and spoke about this here.
Thirdly the Labour Party has been advocacting the need for economic growth. I have outlined 10 options for the types of approaches that it could take to stimulate growth in the short term here.
Learning from the previous Labour government
As I’ve written and spoken about here, the lessons I would draw for local and regional econonomic policy from the previous Labour government (1997-2010) would be to have clear goals and missions, listen more to localities and cities, co-produce solutions and delivery with local government, HE and FE sectors, and business, evaluate and review from the start – so you can learn, and the need for capacity and capability.
There will need to be a delivery first attitude where it’s all about delivering results
People will need to see and feel the benefits of regional and local economic policies, whether these people are in local government or in local communities or businesses. Much about what Labour do from day 1 is about the next General Election in 5 years’ time.
Remember! shy bairns get nowt!
As I wrote here with Mike Spicer – local areas need to be on the front foot in making the case for their economy and for investment. Fundamentally, there is a window of opportunity to increase the profile of your local area and input into the policy-making and prioritisation process.
Advocacy is a significant part of the local economic development toolkit – this means being able to articulate and explain how your economy works and performs, its challenges, opportunities and an agenda for investment and action. If you are not doing advocacy, you are not doing local economic development properly.
How to handle restructuring and change
Its better to say “yes to restructuring, and… we can take some of the learning, capabilities and experiences of the previous structures to build something even better.”… and follow the 10 lessons from past experience in the article here.
Devolution is an enabler. It’s what you do with it that counts.
If you want to browse the videos currently released
Click here to view the youtube podcast site. Or click on the podcast menu item above to access the videos. Videos will be released over the next few months (June-September 2024). There is also a mobile phone friendly version on the youtube shorts site.
I help build great economic development organisastions
Glenn Athey is a leading economic development and regeneration professional and senior executive with a 30-year track record of successful leadership, delivery, networks, and practical knowledge acquired working in senior roles in government agencies, partnership organisations and UK think tanks.
Glenn helps local leaders translate their economic ambitions into winning advocacy and solutions that get funded.
Get in touch via LinkedIn messaging or the contact form on the website.
