The Growing Together Alliance’s House of Commons Reception
We were pleased to represent our region at last week’s Growing Together Alliance's House of Commons reception, hosted by Business South and Deloitte.
The Growing Together Alliance brings leading regional business organisations, including Business West, together to drive good growth through collaboration. We’re focused on strengthening connections between cities and regions, sharing insight, and supporting government to deliver place-based economic strategy.
We saw that commitment in action at the event. Business leaders, local authority chiefs, Mayors and MPs gathered to network, and hear the latest updates from the Growing Together Alliance.
Dame Chi Onwurah, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, explained how the Government’s number one priority is growth; and if all the regions were to grow at the same rate as London and the Greater South East, national growth would exceed the government’s current targets.
Building on individual regional strengths and connecting clusters can create a national innovation infrastructure where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Regional success is national success, and we should focus on collaboration rather than competition.
A panel discussion featuring Richard Bray, Managing Partner for Regions at Deloitte UK; Harriet Fear MBE, Chair of Cambridge Ahead; and Rob Bridge, Chief Executive of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, underscored the same theme.
The panellists agreed that innovation is not confined to the ‘golden triangle’ of London, Oxford and Cambridge, and growth and creativity flourish far beyond those cities – as our Business West members and partners know well.
We were pleased to hear the work of Futures West and the Brunel Centre referenced as making the case for increased investment in the West of England.
There was also recognition that the UK’s ambitions in AI and advanced technologies will also be shaped by geography. For example, the location of AI development will hinge on ease of access to power, and low latency.
Meanwhile, new educational initiatives such as the new university in Peterborough demonstrate how regional leadership, in particular combined mayoral authorities, can significantly boost social mobility and address the skills gap.
We look forward to further collaboration with Advanced Oxford, BusinessLDN, Business South, Cambridge Ahead, The Northern Powerhouse Partnership and North West Business Leadership Team
To keep up to date with the Growing Together Alliance follow us on LinkedIn. You can also read the Connected Clusters report here, which outlines a bold and comprehensive strategy for the Chancellor to encourage interconnected, inclusive economic growth across the UK.