Midlands Engine to be wound down

Midland Railway Engine

Author Ashley Dace Licence CC BY-SA 2.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

I described the Midlands Engine as "a set of initiatives that were announced by Philip Hammond MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in The Midlands Engine Strategy on 9 March 2017."  Its aim was to stimulate growth in the East and West Midlands. A Midlands Engine Partnership was established and chaired by Sir John Peace. I first mentioned it in The Midlands Engine which I posted to NIPC East Midlands on 7 Dec 2015.

In a statement dated 17 March 2025, the Partnership announced that government funding would cease on 31 March 2025.  The statement continued:

"In the coming months, we will focus on supporting our talented staff, bringing key programmes to a close and working with partners to maintain the momentum we have built. We will continue collaborating across the region to ensure a smooth transition and to reinforce the Midlands’ critical role in the UK’s economic future."

Many of the Partnership's functions are performed by the West Midlands and East Midlands combined authorities (see "What We Do" on the West Midlands Combined Authority's website and "What We Do" on the East Midlands Combined County Authority website),

The Midlands Engine was the region's response to the Northern Powerhouse which was conceived by the Coalition Government "as a strategy to stimulate economic growth in the North of England by developing the principal cities of the North of England into a counterweight to London through improving transport links and investing heavily in science, technology, the arts and education."  No similar announcement appears to have been made by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership but the idea of integrating the metropolitan areas between Leeds and Liverpool into a counterweight to London was abandoned when its boundaries were extended to everything between the Trent and Humnber and the Scottish border.

Despite the Labour Party's historic links with the Midlands and North the present government's attention seems to be focused on the Oxford to Cambridge arc (see Peter Foster UK revives plan for Oxford-Cambridge Arc 27 Jan 2025 Financial Times).  Hardly a new development as can be seen from my article Partnering for Prosperity: A new deal for the Cambridge- Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc from 21 Nov 2017 NIPC East Midlands.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours pr send me a message through my contact page at any time.

DIT's Midland Engine Branded Trade Shows

Jane Lambert

Earlier today I blogged about Northern Powerhouse branded trade missions in IP Northwest and IP Yorkshire. I wondered whether there was anything similar for the Midlands Engine. It turns out that there is a Midlands Engine campaign page and that six trips have been arranged.  I have written about those missions in detail in Midlands Engine Trade Missions which you will find in my East Midlands blog.

In that article, I have reminded readers to take care in the handling of their trade secrets, that is to say not to disclose secret technical or commercial information except in confidence and to take care to make sure that any NDA or confidentiality agreements are governed by English law. I have also warned of some of the difficulties that can arise at international trade shows and where readers can get further information.

Should anybody wish to discuss any of these matters, call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message on my contact form.

Further Reading

The Midlands Engine