The region is still strong Labour territory. We must ensure that Andy Street is at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
The image of large swathes of the north, as a post-industrial wasteland, filled with abandoned Victorian terraces, isn’t just wrong and offensive. It’s actively dangerous.
The Conservative Party could become the natural home for the urban working class if it revived these towns, David Skelton argues in his new book.
A serious devolution agenda would champion freedom from the suffocating tendrils of risk-averse Whitehall mandarins.
We cannot afford to have so much at risk of bandwidth bottlenecks in Westminster and Whitehall. It’s time to kickstart decentralisation.
The previously centralised direction of spending was unimaginative and bureaucratic. Funding went into leisure courses.
This governance model’s real flaw is a complete lack of checks and balances on executive powers. I hope in 2020 we will end it.
Labour losses was the big story here. Many working class voters switched to backing independents, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also gaining.
Good luck to every Conservative standing for election today. Let us hope that in future much more power is devolved to the roles you are competing for.
Fittingly, the Black Country, synonymous with the heavy industry of the Industrial Revolution, aims to take the lead in building this new science of reclamation.
The Greater Manchester mayor then says he would support one if the alternative was a No Deal Brexit.
From transport tech and data-driven healthcare, to creative enterprises and the services sector, we are forging ahead.
In the West Midlands, investment decisions have been deferred. We need to be able to push ahead with new trade arrangements around the globe.
We must drive this project forward. It is a vital piece of infrastructure which could allow a million new homes to be built. But we need to sort out the route.
The new Shared Prosperity Fund, which will replace EU funding into the regions, is a great opportunity to put areas like mine back in control.