Adam Hawksbee writes for The Times on the role of England’s mayors in building a skills pipeline. He writes:
“Five years ago Amazon started the search for “HQ2”, its second headquarters. It had outgrown its Seattle base and issued a call for proposals for a $5 billion project that it claimed would house 50,000 workers. Cue the “Hunger Games for cities” in which US mayors climbed over each other to offer the tech behemoth the best deal. As the chancellor reconsiders the scope and scale of “investment zones”, this episode offers some important lessons.
“[…] Competitions for inward investment are rarely as public as the one Amazon ran for its new home but they are happening all the time, with companies carefully weighing up areas across the world for expansion. If Britain’s towns and cities want to get to the front of the line they will need more from the government than tax breaks.”
You can read the full piece here.
Adam Hawksbee, Deputy Director, discusses the consequences for levelling up if HS2 is scrapped.
Jenevieve Treadwell, Senior Researcher, writes for the New Statesman on the national importance of coastal revival and the political gains supporting this may yield.
Jenevieve Treadwell, Senior Researcher, writes for PoliticsHome on the importance of reviving coastal economies, discussing our recent report Troubled Waters.
Deputy Director Adam Hawksbee writes for the Times on opportunities to address the housing crisis and regenerate coastal communities.