BLOG: BWB - Making a noise at Westminster!

28 October 2016

Following a very successful “Nottingham in Parliament Day” our CEO, Steve Wooler, reflects on the discussions that took place and the potential this event may hold for the city and the wider Midlands region.

“Getting most of Nottingham’s major business leaders together in one room isn’t easy. Bringing them together with the nation’s decision-makers is harder still. So I take my hat off to the University of Nottingham, which did just that. In the Houses of Parliament!

The occasion was a round table discussion about the Midlands Engine – arguably a rival to the Northern Powerhouse – which kicked-off Nottingham in Parliament Day, a one-day take-over of Westminster by the key businesses and organisations in the city, corralled by the University.

As you’d expect, there was an enormous amount of pride in the room, and quite right too: in my view, Nottingham simply doesn’t shout enough about its strengths and its achievements. This is why BWB as a business decided to be one of the co-sponsors of the Round Table: we wanted Parliament to know that the city we’ve grown up in is one that should be recognised, supported and invested in.

We’ve been involved in many of the city’s more recent landmark projects (see here), not least the expansion of the Nottingham tram system – in my view, a genuinely world-class infrastructure investment that will act as an essential catalyst for social and economic regeneration.

Proud as we are in achievements like that, the very high-profile panel at the Midlands Engine made the point more than once that the Midlands Engine that Nottingham forms part of should not be competing with the Northern Powerhouse. No Brexit vote will change the fact that our main competition is the rest of the world.

So parts of the round table were a reality check. For all its industrial strengths, the Midlands’ share of the UK’s GDP is nowhere near high enough; the East Midlands in particular has been far too parochial; skills development must focus on the technologies of the future, not a rose-tinted vision of our industrial past.

Crucially, every member of the panel supported the drive to invest in the UK’s infrastructure: it is the life-blood that the economy depends on, and the failure to upgrade and expand capacity it has undoubtedly held growth back. I was thrilled to hear later on in the day that Midlands Connect – the part of the Midlands Engine initiative which focuses on transport – will have a new strategy ready by March.

With most of Nottinghamshire’s MPs in the room, there as inevitable political dissent, and some very plain-speaking about the need for professional, properly funded business support rather than enthusiastic amateurs; and for major businesses to pitch in rather than stand back and criticise.

But that’s what debate is about and we shouldn’t be afraid. Indeed, may-be Parliament can come to Nottingham next time!

I’m proud of the part BWB played in supporting Nottingham in Parliament Day, in particular our sponsorship of the Midlands Engine Round Table. As a business, it’s an initiative we need to stay close to. So watch this space!”

Pictured: Panellists at the BWB-sponsored Midlands Engine debate at the Nottingham in Parliament Day are, from left, Councillor Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council; Sir John Peace, chair of the Midlands Engine; Sir Andrew Witty, Chief Executive of GSK; Elizabeth Fagan, Vice President and Managing Director of Boots UK; Sir David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor, University of Nottingham. Standing behind are BWB CEO Steve Wooler, right, and Anthony Cork, Director of co-sponsor Gleeds, left.

Key Contacts

Name: Steve Wooler
Job Title: Chief Executive

E: steve.wooler@bwbconsulting.com

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