Karl McCartney MP has welcomed today’s six-point long-term economic plan for the Midlands – showing what has been delivered, what is underway and what more can be done to support the regional economy in the long-term.
The plan sets out six commitments to:
- Raise the long term growth rate of the Midlands to at least the forecast long term growth rate of the whole UK - adding an extra £34 billion to the Midlands economy in real terms by 2030, equivalent to over £3,000 per person.
- Create 300,000 extra jobs in the Midlands – by backing the core strengths of the local economy like advanced manufacturing and engineering.
- Put skills at the heart of the economic revival of the Midlands – working with local businesses and the Local Enterprise Partnership on a radical new matching service for local working people and increasing skilled apprenticeships. We are devolving power over skills, which is currently centred in Whitehall, to the Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships in the Midlands, on the condition that different areas combine together to produce a strong joint plan.
- Deliver £5.2 billion of investment into new transport infrastructure in the Midlands – upgrading the motorways to four lanes, delivering faster north-south rail connections and new east-west links, and make the most of the economic opportunities of HS2.
- Back science and innovation in the Midlands - focussing on the plan for local universities to develop an Energy Research Accelerator and support new technology in the world-leading automotive sector.
- Improve the quality of life in the Midlands – by regenerating run-down estates, investing in the county towns, supporting the construction of 30,000 new homes and making the improvements to local education so 150,000 more pupils attend outstanding schools. We will also support events to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, along with the engineering and military history of the region.
Because there are no quick fixes to achieving these important goals, the Conservatives have set out a specific timetable to deliver this over the next parliament and then the following decade (the timetable is outlined below). By doing so, we will build a more balanced British economy, with more jobs, prosperity, and a brighter future for hardworking taxpayers and families across the Midlands.
Locally, families in Lincoln will particularly benefit in 2016 from plans for a new Agrifood centre at the University of Lincoln’s Holbeach campus, supported through the £14.8m Greater Lincolnshire Growth Deal expansion, as part of this plan.
And from 2019, the improved East Coast timetable introduced from May 2019 will feature faster services, new direct services and improved weekend services, including two-hourly direct weekday services between Bradford, Harrogate, Lincoln and London.
Karl McCartney MP said: “As Conservatives we know you can only have a strong economy if you have a balanced one. Today’s plan shows clearly how we will deliver that with a strong Midlands – which will mean more economic security and a better future for people in my City of Lincoln Constituency.
“The plan will mean families better off, with more people in work, new housing, better roads, better railways, and improved schools and skills. Locally people will particularly benefit from plans for a new Agrifood centre at the University of Lincoln next year and two-hourly direct weekday services between Lincoln and London in 2019.
“The only way we’ll be able to achieve this is by sticking to the long-term economic plan that is already starting to deliver a better future in our area. The choice at this year’s General Election for people in Lincoln is clear - it’s between strong leadership and a plan that is working with the Conservatives, or the chaos and insecurity of Ed Miliband and a Labour government, who would take us backwards.”
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For further information, please contact Karl McCartney MP at [email protected] / 020 7219 7221.