Conservative Party Conference Roundtable: Cities of Glass Ceilings?

As local and national policy-makers grapple with how to improve social mobility across the country, cities are in a unique position to support businesses to grow and create jobs, to help schools improve their education performance and ensure skills providers deliver training that better fits with the needs of their local jobs markets.

But if cities enable and drive growth, they don’t distribute it equitably; many people and many places are left behind. The new urban job market is often divided between high-skill, high-pay knowledge workers and low-skill, low-pay service workers.

Knowledge workers may be renewing once-blighted post-industrial success cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds but many of the country’s smaller industrial cities such as Blackburn, Burnley and Sunderland continue to struggle.  And as you well know, even rich cities like Bristol have entrenched poverty.  Needless to say, these trends are politically, economically and socially unsustainable.

This roundtable will explore these issues in a senior level, private discussion. We are delighted to be joined by Cllr Sean Anstee, Leader of the Conservative Group in Oldham, with more speakers to be confirmed. Attendance is by invitation only, contact Rita Beden on rsvp@centreforcities.org for information.

There is an opportunity to partner with us at this roundtable, for more information contact Toni Darton, Head of Fundraisng on t.darton@centreforcities.org.