Member News
By Philip Jarvest - 23rd September 2009
Generating real economic growth in Britain's cities will require a "revolution" in the education system, Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis has said.
At a fringe event in Bournemouth, Lib Dems discussed how to kickstart the economies of Britain's cities and create jobs in the process.
In particular, the debate focussed on where growth will come from and how it can be encouraged.
The event, hosted by Centre for Cities and Urban Hub, was opened by the centre's Dermot Finch who described the harmful impact the recession has had on Britain's cities.
Warren Bradley of Liverpool City Council outlined the "remarkable success’ of the city’s economy and emphasised the success of specialisation in the science and digital media sector.
He praised a new science park in Liverpool and attacked Labour for a failure to further decentralise public sector jobs away from London.
Bob Challacombe of Openreach set out plans to invest in next generation broadband connectivity. He declared that a successful technological infrastructure was essential to taking a new economy forward.
And Lib Dem MP Phil Willis emphasised the need to seize opportunities in specific sectors, most notably in science, the creative industries and green technology.
He argued that a new infrastructure is required, including nationwide 10MB broadband, and took issue with Bradley on the decentralisation of public sector jobs, claiming he was "barking up the wrong tree".
Willis also stressed the importance of improving skills among the workforce, saying there had been a failure of the education curriculum and is a need to encourage entrepreneurship in schools.
The MP also highlighted the need for businesses to support skills-based training amongst their employees and added that a revolution is needed in the curriculum and in qualifications.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.