West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has called for a new era of British industrialisation, arguing that the UK must do far more to turn home-grown innovation into businesses, jobs and wealth within Britain rather than overseas.
Speaking at the West Midlands Growth Summit in Coventry today, the Mayor will challenge business leaders and policymakers to ensure that the country's inventions, research breakthroughs and emerging technologies are translated into manufacturing, production and economic growth on British soil.
Addressing delegates alongside Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Parker will unveil the West Midlands Reindustrialisation Blueprint, a strategy designed to help more businesses commercialise research, scale operations and expand manufacturing across the region.
In a keynote speech, the Mayor will argue that while Britain has a strong track record of invention and research, it has too often failed to capture the long-term economic benefits.
“Good ideas aren’t enough,” he will say. “The economic prize comes when you can take an idea, build a company around it, scale it and make it here.”
The Mayor will position the West Midlands as the natural home for Britain's next industrial revolution, highlighting the strength of the region's manufacturing base and innovation ecosystem.
“Britain’s first industrial age started here. If Britain is serious about building the next one, this is where it should start.”
Parker is expected to challenge the region's ambitions further, asking:
“Why shouldn’t the next great global manufacturing company start in Tipton, scale in Coventry, and go global from Birmingham?”
He will point to Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, maker of popular diabetes and weight-loss treatment Ozempic, as an example of the kind of globally significant company that Britain should be capable of creating and scaling.
The Mayor will use Coventry as an example of how advanced manufacturing and innovation are already driving economic growth in the region.
Among the businesses he will highlight are:
- Lawton Tubes, which manufactures specialist copper pipes used to deliver oxygen in hospitals.
- Aurrigo, which develops and manufactures autonomous vehicle technologies used in airports worldwide.
- Maeving, the electric motorcycle manufacturer designing and building its vehicles in Coventry.
According to Mr Parker, these businesses demonstrate how established industrial expertise can be combined with cutting-edge technologies to create export-led growth and high-value employment opportunities.
As part of the summit, the Mayor and Business Secretary will announce a package of investments and initiatives aimed at strengthening manufacturing and helping businesses bring new products to market.
The measures include:
- More than £12 million in combined public and private investment through the DRIVE35 programme.
- Support for Longbow Motors, Brandauer and PAB Coventry.
- Creation of a new Battery Manufacturing Taskforce.
- Launch of a Talent Transition Pilot to help workers move into growth sectors.
- An additional £18.4 million for the Business Energy Advice Service.
Parker said:
“This is how we turn good ideas into growth.”
Ahead of the summit, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds praised the region's ambitions and aligned them with the Government's wider industrial strategy.
He said:
“The West Midlands is at the forefront of our mission to reindustrialise, and this plan shows why. Through our Modern Industrial Strategy we’re supporting our manufacturing heartlands like the West Midlands, backing local leaders to create jobs and prosperity.
"I want to thank the Mayor of the West Midlands for his leadership and ambition for the region, and I look forward to working with him to deliver on his plan.”
Mr Parker added:
“Good ideas aren’t enough. Britain has often been very good at the invention and the research, then watched as the production, jobs and value were created in Europe, America or China.
“The economic prize comes when you can take an idea, build a company around it, scale it and make it here. This is the region best placed to do exactly that.
“We want companies to grow here, production to happen here and the value created by that success to stay here.
“Britain’s first industrial age started here. If Britain is serious about building the next one, this is where it should start again.”
One of the first beneficiaries of the new support package will be Longbow Motors, the British electric sports car manufacturer. The company will receive backing through the DRIVE35 Supplier Readiness and Transformation Fund as it establishes a new production line in the West Midlands.
The Mayor believes businesses such as Longbow demonstrate how the region can successfully nurture emerging technologies and transform them into large-scale manufacturing operations.
The West Midlands already employs around 273,000 people in manufacturing and generates approximately £22 billion in annual manufacturing output, making it one of the UK's most significant industrial economies. The region is also the only area of the country with recognised strengths across all eight sectors identified within the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy.
The central ambition of the Reindustrialisation Blueprint is straightforward: ensure that ideas developed in Britain are built in Britain, that businesses can scale locally, and that the prosperity they create remains within the communities that generated them.
Image credit: iStock
