Llanelli needs a plan


This column was published in the Llanelli Star on 13th April 2016

If Port Talbot steelworks is forced to close the ripple effects will be huge.

The Prime Minister must surely step in and save the British steel industry, which is essential not only for jobs but our defence industry and wider economy too. After all the annual cost of bailing out Tata steel would be £122 billion less than the 2008 banking bailout.

Whatever happens over the next couple of weeks and months there is no doubt that the Llanelli constituency needs a long-term economic plan.

In my day job running Wales’ most respected think-tank I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the future of our economy. After a 100 years of decline there’s a lot to be done. But there is much we can do, and we can lead the way here in Llanelli.

Terry Mathews, the man behind the Celtic Manor in Newport, has set out an excellent framework for the wider Swansea Bay region based on attracting the next wave of growth industries.  The revolution in medical technology through gene research offers huge opportunities for medicines adapted personally to each of us, and the idea of a cutting edge research centre at Delta Lakes as part of a ‘wellness centre’ is part of that.

In addition to that we need to focus on our existing strengths. Llanelli born Professor Karel Williams - now a leading light at the highly-respected Manchester Business School - has done a lot of work on what he calls the ‘foundational economy’. He thinks we should be making the most out things that may seem everyday, but have potential to really help the local economy if developed in the right way. He suggests three areas: food production, energy production and the care sector.

There’s lots of research and goodwill we can draw on, and great talent within our area to bring together to work out a way of rebuilding our economy over the next 20 years.

That’s what I want to focus on. Llanelli needs a plan -and that will be my priority if I’m elected on May 5th



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dysgu gwersi

Image
A note to members of the Llanelli constituency Labour Party There has been a big disagreement within Welsh Labour. There has not been a ‘witch-hunt’ against Vaughan Gething, but there has been a genuine conflict of values. Now there is an appetite to quickly move on, but I think there’s a real danger that in shutting down discussion we will neither understand nor learn the lessons of what has happened.  As uncomfortable as it will be I think we need proper debate about the future direction of Welsh Labour. Circling the wagons around a ‘unity candidate’ may bring some short-term relief, but it will do nothing to address the fundamental need to renew in office. I’ve not given any interview and don’t intent to, but as a way of making sense of it all I’ve written this assessment which looks at what should happen now and an analysis of how we got to this position.  These are offered in the spirit of honest debate and not point-scoring. Edrych ymlaen We’re in a pickle. After 25 years as the
Read more

Transport for Wales 2.0

Image
Speech to Transport for Wales senior management at Llys Cadwyn, TfW HQ, in Pontypridd on 6th February 2024 Diolch am y croeso a y cyfle. James Price and I meet regularly, and sometimes it feels like we’re in charge. But it really is a privilege to be in the same room as the people who actually do run transport in Wales. And it’s so nice to see people together. I’m still adjusting to meeting people in the flesh who I’m used to seeing online; I still can’t believe how short everyone is when I meet them! Apart from the ones I already knew were short, obviously (you know who you are). The worst thing about those mass Teams calls is that I can’t see people’s reactions to what I’m saying – to confirm that they are drifting off.  So at least I’ll know for sure today that I am boring you – the people in the room at least. It won’t stop me, but it gets rid of the uncertainty. I know we’ve priced-in that politicians' speeches will be insincere, but I really do mean what I say. And I
Read more

2023 - 5 big changes in transport in Wales

Image
Changing direction takes you to a different destination... We ask our transport system to do a lot of things, but we’ve not asked it to make its contribution to our shared challenge of reducing carbon emissions. Indeed, transport is the sector that has contributed the least to the legal duty to cut emissions. Unless that changes we will not meet our overall NetZero imperative . It is difficult for any incoming Transport Minister to change much in the short-term - road and rail projects take upwards of seven years to implement, and the ongoing pipeline of schemes means that significant spending has already been committed and political expectations raised by the time a new Minister takes office. Though the political spotlight is inevitably on short-term problems, significant change is a longer term project. Over and above the day-to-day activity of keeping a transport system on track I have tried to focus on how to ‘change the wiring’ to secure medium to long-term change. For all its ch
Read more