A “Plan for Prosperity” has been unveiled that is claimed to deliver “real levelling up” for the Liverpool City Region.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has laid out his agenda to provide economic growth and create more than 50,000 new jobs across the area up to 2035. Mr Rotheram said that for “too long, too many people have been left behind by an economy that simply does not work for them.”
The plan comes months after Knowsley received £0 per head in levelling up funding for its three bids. This is in contrast to health secretary Sajid Javid’s Bromsgrove constituency that was granted £148 per head.
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Central to the proposals is building on the success of the region’s science hubs at the £1bn Knowledge Quarter Liverpool and Sci-Tech Daresbury, as well as the Hynet North West hydrogen fuel switching programme, and Glass Futures, a global glass innovation and industrial decarbonisation centre in St Helens.
Through the plan, the city region hopes to capitalise on its strengths in industries such as infectious disease control, materials chemistry, and applied artificial intelligence. It is said that these sectors will play a key role in helping the region to meet its goal of spending the equivalent of 5% of the local economy on Research and Development each year by 2030.
This would represent an investment nearly double the UK target, adding a £19.7bn boost to the economy, 44,000 new jobs, and a 10% uplift in productivity. It is thought those job numbers could be further increased by 14,000 through the city region’s Freeport status and an economic boon of £850m as part of a broader plan to increase the region’s export level by 10%.
The plan also sets out the region’s hopes to become the UK’s renewable energy coast, exploiting its natural assets and advantages in renewable energy through wind, tidal and hydrogen. Mayor Rotheram said: “For too long, too many people have been left behind by an economy that simply does not work for them.
“I want the Liverpool City Region to be at the forefront of the movement for a better way of doing things. This plan outlines my bold vision for a fairer, stronger and cleaner city region – one that doesn’t just look to boost the bottom line, but boost people’s life chances.”
Mayor Rotheram said that true prosperity is about “much more than traditional measures of economic growth.” He added: “It means better personal health and wellbeing, proper access to opportunity and well-paid secure work; the chance to live in safe, thriving neighbourhoods; and in a flourishing natural environment.
“This is the true meaning of ‘levelling up:’ a place where no one or no borough is left behind and meaningful opportunity and equality is shared by all. Devolution is all about doing things differently and, in radically changing the face of our economy, we’re taking full advantage.”
