Opinion CHAMBER LINK
The Official Publication of Greater Birmingham Chambers of commerce
Editor’s View
By John Lamb
A couple of phrases which entered the public domain during the past month should live long in the memory. First, Sir John Peace, chairman of the Midlands
Engine, said at a Conservative Party conference fringe event: “The Midlands as a whole is on a roll at the start of a golden decade for the region.” A golden decade indeed. The Prime Minister had just stated at this Greater Birmingham and Solihull
‘Birmingham and the West Midlands are finally getting their long overdue moment in the spotlight’
Local Enterprise Partnership gathering that “if we want to build an economy that works for everyone, then we have to empower our great cities”. She obviously had a very receptive audience in the heart of a city that should certainly regard itself
Sutton Coldfield
Chamber of Commerce
as great. Or would it? Too often today we hear leaders of the city regretting that Birmingham people always
seem to be shy in coming forward; shy to shout about its achievements; shy to speculate what a great future it has; shy to brag about the city’s regeneration. But, in the words of the new winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the times they are indeed a- changing. Sir John also is saying it and so is Birmingham Chamber’s new president Paul Kehoe, who provided
the second memorable phrase of recent weeks. At a Chamber patrons’ lunch he said that Birmingham had “a Goldilocks economy”, by which he
Front cover New Hub answers Prime Minister’s call See pages 26-27
Editor John Lamb 0121 607 1781, 0797 1144064
j.lamb@
birmingham-chamber.com
Deputy Editor Dan Harrison 0121 607 1887, 0797 1144052
d.harrison@birmingham-chamber.com
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meant it was not too big and not too small. He might also have said that this idea lies in finding an exact middle path between opposites – for
example, the first is wrong in one way, the second is another or opposite way, and only the third, in the middle, is just right. In the Goldilocks story, this related to porridge, chairs and beds. But, of course, the “Goldilocks Principle” could be applied to economics - and perhaps to the way Birmingham is shaping up nicely as a major global player. Mrs May also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to HS2 and added: “I am delighted that Birmingham is using HS2 as a catalyst for the regeneration of the Curzon Street area.” Birmingham will be taking the bold vision for Curzon Street to MIPIM UK and the Cannes event next
year. It is there that the hard work of selling the city to investors really gets under way and the exciting plans for regenerating the area should ensure of lot of attention. As Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers, said - Birmingham and the
West Midlands are finally getting their long overdue moment in the spotlight. Mrs May also said that people have always been Birmingham’s strength. We’ll go along with that
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and couple it with the hope that Brummies shake off their natural reticence and take full advantage of the roll we’re now on.
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CHAMBERLINK is produced on behalf of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed to members without charge. The Chambers and the publisher are committed to achieving the highest quality standards. While every care has been taken to ensure that the information it contains is accurate, neither the Chambers nor the publisher can accept any responsibility for any omission or inaccuracies that might arise. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Chambers. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format without prior written permission of Kemps Publishing Ltd.
4 CHAMBERLINK November 2016
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