England's incoming metro mayors will face challenges and opportunities that necessitate decisive action and collaboration.
The incoming mayors across England face a lengthy to-do list. Overcoming the Covid pandemic and guiding an economic recovery of course sits at the top. There will be no time to waste, as there are other challenges and opportunities ahead which require bold action, innovative solutions and collaboration.
Decisive interventions on skills, infrastructure, inequality and climate change will all be crucial to long-term regional prosperity. Metro areas require mayors with the influence and the ambition to drive positive change on all these fronts, and who can combine with counterparts in other mayoral regions and central government to truly bring the levelling-up agenda to life.
That is why the CBI has published Revival Plans for each of the mayoral combined authorities; in essence, plans from businesses on how to release each region’s unique strengths to turbo-charge recovery, accelerate moves to net zero and lay the foundations for a sustainable and equitable economic future.
Creating a welcoming business environment is a priority. This includes overcoming skills shortages and pockets of low productivity. And successfully addressing inequalities in education and income depend upon attracting inward investment while seeking improvements in physical infrastructure and digital connectivity.
This means addressing the short-term challenges of Covid – while also developing and championing a long-term vision for our regional economies which are healthier, more productive and thriving places. Mayors must recognise that a strong economy which delivers shared growth and good jobs can raise living standards and wages for all.
Of course, this cannot be achieved working alone. The CBI has regularly engaged business leaders on what is needed to empower places which because of the circumstances we find ourselves, including longstanding inequalities and the opportunity to emerge stronger than pre-crisis, is more important than ever.
Business leaders value having identifiable and accountable leaders setting out clear visions and building upon an area’s strengths. That role is inherently achieved with elected mayors – not that they should be required of all areas. But where the functional economic areas and local public support exist there is a strong case for metro mayors.
As we have set out in Powering up places, we aim for over 60% of the English population to be covered by a devolution deal by 2025. Once more mayors are in place, Whitehall and town halls will need to both prioritse collaboration.
The scale of the challenges and opportunities are too large to carry out alone. That is why we recommend convening metro mayors, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer twice a year ahead of fiscal events.
To assist incoming metro mayors from day one, we have identified business priorities against three themes in each of our Revival Plans where business will seek to work in close partnership.
Promoting regions globally can attract inward investment from public and private sectors, expanding export business opportunities. Meanwhile, kickstarting R&D spending can drive innovation, supported by increased collaboration between business, academia and government.
Carbon reduction ambitions can be supported by showcasing the benefits of a greener and more sustainable future to the business community. In turn, this can drive meaningful improvement and green investment in jobs, housing, transport and digitisation across regions.
Skills training should be aligned with current and future needs of business. The mayor must champion diversity and inclusion to boost social mobility and ensure opportunity for younger generations and minority groups, while delivering projects that result in the creation of good jobs at pace, enabling business to attract and retain good talent.
Together, the CBI believes these actions can address inequalities and equip all regions with the infrastructure, talent and investment needed to thrive through post-pandemic recovery and beyond.
To be a success, this requires a renewed partnership, which builds on the collaboration we have seen throughout the pandemic. Business stands ready to step up and support incoming mayors, and to work collaboratively with other businesses, neighbouring authorities, unions and the third sector, as well as all parts of government to revive regional economies and ensure they thrive in the future.
Whatever the challenges facing our regions – both today and in the future – they can be overcome by cross-sector co-operation, spearheaded by bold leadership and a clear vision from incoming mayors.
Jim Hubbard is Head of Regional Policy at the CBI leading its work on regional growth. Here you can find the CBI’s respective Revival Plans ahead of the May mayoral combined authority elections. The CBI hosted an Urban Revival conference examining the challenges and opportunities places face including views from Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lord Mayor Hazel Chu of Dublin and Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis of Athens. An article summarising the two-day conference can be found here.
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