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BUSINESS WEEK LANCASHIRE
DEVOLUTION - LET’S GET IT SORTED!
VIEW ON DEMAND By Ged Henderson RESILIENCE TO RECOVERY
Lancashire’s political leaders have been warned that failure to secure a devolution deal with the government risks causing serious harm to its economic fortunes.
Business leaders who came together for a ‘Resilience to Recovery’ conference – the climax of Lancashire Business Week 2021 – spelled out the dangers of not breaking the deadlock and sealing a deal.
They warned Lancashire could be left behind as the rest of the North moved forward and forged new relationships with central government, and the funding that delivered.
Mo Isap, the founder and chief executive of IN4 Group, said: “Let’s stop being polite to the politicians and absolutely unequivocal - as business people say, ‘get your fingers out and get this sorted’.”
He compared Rochdale in Greater Manchester to Burnley and said: “Look at where Rochdale is at the moment because of the combined authority.
“The investment that is coming in; its advanced productivity centre; the investment because of the GM Investment Strategy, a £1.2bn proposition into government; a mayoral leadership driving on skills and jobs.”
He said that without a deal the county would be “grateful for the crumbs off the table” when it should have the confidence to deal directly with government and spell out “what Lancashire can deliver for UK Plc.”
There is a plan for Lancashire but is there
anyone who can actually take the responsibility for delivering it?
Mo also called for more collaboration between Greater Manchester and Liverpool City regions and the wider North. He told the online conference: “We need to set ourselves out in a complementary fashion.”
And he added: “People from Singapore and Japan don’t see the difference between Skelmersdale and Rossendale.”
The county has been grappling with the devolution deal for many years now. Henri Murison, director of The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said there was a real danger of Lancashire being left behind.
He said: “There is a plan for Lancashire but is there anyone who can actually take the responsibility for delivering it? Currently the answer, I’m afraid, is no.”
He said the government’s White Paper on levelling- up, which will be published in the New Year, would make it clear the direction of travel was towards unitary authorities and the elected mayor model.
And he pointed to Cumbria and North Yorkshire, more rural areas than Lancashire, that were on the road to devolution, adding that meant: “Lancashire is the only place in the North not ready to do a deal with the government.”
Henri compared Tees Valley in the North East, which has an elected mayor, to east Lancashire, saying the latter was at “a competitive disadvantage” when it came to attracting investment and making long term economic decisions.
Melissa Conlon
Henri Murison
Debbie Francis
Mo Isap
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