Three years ago I was lucky enough to hear Adrian Shooter's valedictory address to the 4th Friday Club. Last night, I was fortunate to listen to his Presidential Address to the Birmingham & Midland Institute...
The theme of his address was 'Confidence' which of course his own career exemplifies. Indeed there is an apocryphal 'Shooter's Law': if you are not told not to do something then do it. However, for the purposes of the address, he focused on why Birmingham and the surrounding conurbations should be more confident.
Provocatively starting by declaring that Birmingham is no longer the 'second city' - indeed is probably fourth or fifth behind Manchester and Leeds - he highlighted what is holding Birmingham back: poor schools, lack of technical skills, and (key to his argument) the inability to work with its neighbours. In particular he argued against the local authority boundaries which lead to such anomalies as Birmingham ending half-a-mile from Five Ways...
His solution is a 'Greater Birmingham' where politicians set aside their parochial differences to confidently work together for the promotion of the whole of the West Midlands. He cited Greater Manchester (and of course London) as examples of what could be achieved by such an approach. In addition, he wants a Mayor for the area to be the leader who will drive the necessary collaboration - again, citing the success of the London model.
His belief is that the foundations of economic success are there: two excellent universities, Jaguar Land Rover design and build skills, the digital hub at the Custard Factory, the burgeoning financial and professional sector. What is needed is confidence among our local politicians that standing together achieves more than standing apart.
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