Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has told a Hull business audience how the city is showcasing to the country how a future economy should look.
The front bench opposition MP was guest of honour as Emma Hardy MP outlined her plans to make her constituency the co-working capital of the UK, maximising connectivity assets and fusing them with cost and quality of living.
The Leeds West MP, in her 12th year in parliament, said: “Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm every day in the office, that’s just not going to be the case any more, and it is not what most people want.
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“The experience of the pandemic has made so many people reassess what is important in their lives and the daily commute is something that people want to do less of. Dropping the kids off at school, taking the dog for a walk, spending more time in the place that you live, matters to people.”
Quoting Ms Hardy’s words that ‘No-one should feel forced to leave the place they love for the job they want’ she said: “That is the opportunity that Hull has from these changes.
“Too often people grow up in places like Hull - and there are places all over the country - they do well, get their A-levels, go to university, maybe in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle or down to London, then they want a graduate job and stay in those places.
“Not enough people come back, because they don’t think the opportunities are here. It might be the place they love, but the job is elsewhere. The opportunity that the last couple of years has shown us, is that you don’t actually have to make that choice, and businesses aren’t now forcing people to make that choice, because you don’t have to be in those city centre locations Monday to Friday. You can mix the way you work, spend some of your time at home and some of your time in the office, and that’s why co-working spaces are so important.
“For young people, for parents with caring responsibilities - you may not want to be in a different place every day, but you may not want to be in your own living room, bedroom or tiny little study. These co-working spaces, and adapting the office spaces we have in city centres and town centres is really important.”
And the former Bank of England economist, who replaced Anneliese Dodds in a shadow shuffle in May last year having been in Ed Miliband’s original shadow Treasury team, said: “There’s then an opportunity for smaller businesses in towns and cities outside some of the really big metropolises, if people are spending more time in the place they live and the place they love. “It is right to say there are big challenges for city centres, but for town centres and local high streets there is a big opportunity coming down the line as the way people work changes.
“This coming together of the council, Emma as the local MP, businesses and entrepreneurs, is really exciting and really shows the way of the future, and in years to come it could be both a magnet for people to come back to Hull and relocate to Hull, but also for businesses to come here as well as they see the innovative things that are happening here.”
With the Spring Budget later this month she turned to wider issues, with Hull and the wider Humber still at the fore.
“We need to change the way the economy works because for too many people and too many parts of the country, the economy is not working well enough,” Ms Reeves said. “The economic growth we are seeing at the moment isn’t enough to lift wages, and to lift opportunities for very many people. Inflation at the moment, 5.5 per cent, the highest level of inflation for 30 years and forecast to go up even more in April and in October if energy prices go up further still, so we have got to do more to ensure people’s wages are rising to keep pace with the rising cost of living, but get a grip of inflation, and also keep taxes low so that people can keep more of their money to spend in their local communities.
“The big challenge we have is ensuring that economic growth is of an increasing nature, that it lifts all boats with it, and that it benefits people, not just in London and the South East or in Manchester, but in places like Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire as well.
“There are big opportunities, if you look out to the offshore wind farms - big opportunities - and we have got to make sure we are not just assembling the wind turbines in Hull, that we are making them as well, so more of that supply chain, those high quality, high paid jobs come to Britain, and as Chancellor of the Exchequer I would want to do more to ensure we buy, make and sell more in Britain, including in Hull. That means boosting skills, boosting productivity and investing in infrastructure we need. Whether that’s broadband, so people can work from home, train connections or energy supplies.
“We know, and war in Ukraine has shown us, we have got to wean ourselves off imported oil and gas from petro-states like Russia, but also from the Middle East and elsewhere. That also gives Hull a huge advantage, as we will have to redouble our efforts to invest in offshore wind, tidal and solar.
“Places like Hull are going to benefit from that investment if we get it right.”
She also underlined her commitment to Labour’s Climate Investment Pledge, £28 billion of investment a year, “leveraging private sector investment of Siemens and others to come to places like Hull to create those jobs of the future, to keep people in Hull, to get more money into economies like this one to support all business and the thriving city that we know and want Hull to be in years to come”.
Taking stock of all surveyed, she added: “In culture, on energy, in retail and hospitality, in a whole range of industries, Hull shows the country the future of the economy. I think Work Hull, Work Happy, is another great initiative to get business to Hull, to get people to Hull, and show work can be a lot better than it was before the pandemic, more rewarding, better paid and a better work-life balance. I applaud what you’re doing and look forward to seeing the results of the research you are doing and I hope it will show the way for other towns and cities around the UK.”
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