City will get a fair deal, vows deputy PM Clegg
PLYMOUTH will have a level playing field in competing to secure new spending powers from Whitehall to kick-start the economy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has insisted.
The Lib Dem leader has stressed there would be no "northern bias" in assessing "city deal" bids, which he said would be judged on the ability of submitted plans to "drive real growth".
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Depute Prime Minister Nick Clegg
Plymouth is among 20 cities invited to put forward 'ambitious' proposals, following an expansion of the scheme.
Ministers have already signed agreements with eight major cities worth millions of pounds. Birmingham got £25 million for a new medical centre while Liverpool was promised £75 million to boost the economy.
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Plymouth along with the other local authorities have been invited to draw up proposals stating what they want from the Government, and what they can offer in return. This typically means promising to help create jobs.
Although city deals can involve receiving government grants for specific projects, they can also include giving councils more control over existing funds administered by Whitehall, and making it easier for them to raise money from the private sector.
Many cities have demanded the right to take responsibility for skills and training, to make sure that workers have the expertise needed by local employers.
But ministers have warned it is a competitive process and do not expect deals to go-ahead with all 20 cities.
The main beneficiaries of another economic flagship policy, the Regional Growth fund, have been the North East, North West, and the West midlands, due to their dependency on the public sector.
But Mr Clegg told The Herald there would be a level playing field in relation to awarding city deals.
He said: "I will agree deals with the cities who come up with proposals that are radical, ambitious and bold enough to make changes that will drive real growth. Each city has its own unique strengths. There is no northern bias.
"I want to see a more balanced economy that means building strong local economies outside London and the South East.
"Plymouth is over 180 miles away from London – just as far as Birmingham or Leeds."
Earlier, Mr Clegg warned the economic fortunes of the regions could not be revived through Whitehall handouts.
He said: "Certainly not now when the Treasury's coffers are bare. And even if we did have lots of money, the previous approach was fundamentally flawed.
"Revenues from the financial services sector were recycled round the rest of the country through the long arm of the state, creating the illusion of strong, national growth. Jobs were created but in an unbalanced way, over-relying on the public sector, funded by tax receipts from the City of London.
"And we've seen what happens when the conveyor belt breaks, as it did spectacularly in 2008. Those tax receipts fall, the money stops flowing and the whole country feels the consequences as the public sector contracts and jobs are lost. This nation is made up of 100,000 square miles. It cannot rely so heavily on one. So we need a stronger, more resilient economy, built on the backs of industrious and independent cities."
Oliver Colvile, the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, welcomed the announcement.
He said that he, Alison Seabeck, the MP for Moor view, and Gary Streeter, the MP for South West Devon, had been campaigning for it.
"We have worked across the party political divide," Mr Colvile said.
He added that he had written to the Prime Minister in March, asking for a boost for the city, after Mr Cameron made "a slip" by referring to Plymouth's non-existent enterprise zone.
Comments
by jabbathebutt
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 8:25PM
“Does this include every town and city in the EU as well Cleggy with the billions you give to it ? Because that where his interest lies first and foremost and anyone who thinks different must be a bigot . All their speil about putting their own people first makes me want to gag .
he and his lot have nothing to offer us , just a secure for job in the UNELECTED EU that was sold to us as a common market .
Look forward to 2014 when millions upon millions more are allowed here .... because we need them .”
by SteveDavis01
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 7:33PM
“D P Clegg is just a torry puppet and will not rock the boat for the people, even though he is not a real tory, but the colour of his party says it all. (YELLOW)”
by m_dalston
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 5:18PM
“Haha .. this was the bloke that said he wouldn't raise tuition fees right? ... Next.”
by Dunthiel
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 5:12PM
“The one vital piece of connectivity Plymouth is in desperate need of is an airport. The kind of money on offer is a drop in the ocean for what is required to substantially improve the A38 or railway, yet a relatively small sum spent opening and improving our air facility would reap considerable economic benefits.
Also if we're comparing Plymouth to Carlisle then it's worth noting that Carlisle is 1h 20 minutes from Newcastle International Airport. Plymouth on the other hand is 2h 15 minutes from Bristol International, which is our nearest comparable airport to Newcastle, although at least for now it lacks a Middle Eastern connection and is centered more around low cost airlines.”
by bluebell2
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 5:11PM
“HE Wont ever get my vote don,t like his stance on europe and defence he would have us with bows and arrows if he had his way . bluebell”
by nothalf
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 12:59PM
“wasn't John Prescott a deputy PM, zzzzzzz”
by timplymouth
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 12:46PM
“Indeed, I was saying our transport system is so slow it doesn't matter how many miles we are from London "as the crow flies". I merely picked Carlisle as the furthest English city from London.”
by hstmtu4000
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 12:17PM
“As you say timplymouth its all very worrying for Plymouth future economic prospects in the 21st century when even someone as senior as Nick Clegg "spins" the totally inaccurate comparison that "Plymouth is over 180 miles away from London – JUST AS FAR AS BIRMINGHAM OR LEEDS."
Unfortunately Plymouth is by 21st century standards business wise an increasingly uncompetitive 3hours plus by rail from London and with little more than a slim hope of an airport as well from the Governments point of view if Nick Cleggs words are anything to go.The Birmingham and Leeds he quotes above are already just I hr 25m/2h 15m respectively by fast and frequent trains from London and much closer than to Britain's other economic centres than Plymouth.
Add to that HS2 the proposed Y shaped 225mph high speed rail line from London to Birmingham (just 49minutes) which will then split into 2 lines one going to Leeds and the other going to Manchester and his choice of comparison could not be a worse one really.Nick Cleggs "city deal" bids unless accompanied by improved transport links will sadly amount to little more than p---ing into the political wind for Plymouths public sector,part time economy. Increasingly real business and investment will only go to those places that are easy and quick to get to and as you say from that point of view we just as well be in Carlisle as Plymouth.
lweston says "Carlisle ?- you must be joking - who - just who would want to be in Carlisle"
Precisely that's Plymouths problem,its not so much how far you are from the countries main economic centres but how long it takes to get there that largely determines how business activity thrives generally.That was "timplymouth" point,connectivity and therefore business wise we in Plymouth had just as well be in Carlisle.That is why Exeter's economy thrives while Plymouth struggles because it is easier to get to/from the countries main economic centres journey time wise particularly London and the South East.
Incidentally despite its distance from London,Carlisle is still only 3h 15m/3h 30m by rail from London Euston because it is on Virgin trains electrified 125mph West Coast main line from London Euston to Glasgow which has just been upgraded at a cost of some £9billion.”
by lweston
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 11:34AM
“timplymouth;-
Carlisle ?- you must be joking - who - just who would want to be in Carlisle”
by timplymouth
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 10:00AM
“"Plymouth is over 180 miles away from London – just as far as Birmingham or Leeds."
But our transport links are so slow we might as well be in Carlisle”