The world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales
The Rt Hon. Stephen Crabb MP, Secretary of State for Wales, speech to Cardiff Business School - 29 October 2015
It바카라 사이트s a huge pleasure to be back at Cardiff University and for my first visit to the University바카라 사이트s flagship Business School.
I would like to begin by thanking the Vice-Chancellor for his kind welcome and for hosting this event 바카라 사이트 and also by saluting the Business School바카라 사이트s recent success.
The school was ranked 6th out of 101 by the 2014 Research Excellence Framework바카라 사이트 testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff, students and researchers associated with the School. Not only has the School cemented its international reputation in recent years, it is estimated the School contributes Β£85m annually to the Welsh economy.
And I applaud too the Vice Chancellor바카라 사이트s strategic goal of seeing a Welsh university in the world바카라 사이트s top 100. That바카라 사이트s exactly the kind of ambition I love 바카라 사이트 Cardiff University aiming to be not just a success story within the UK 바카라 사이트 which it is 바카라 사이트 but a success globally.
The international dimension of Cardiff Business School is an important one. A diverse, international student body makes for a dynamic business school environment and actually reflects the global nature of the economic realities that business in the UK and in Wales contends with each day.
There is no corner of the economy in Wales which isn바카라 사이트t being shaped profoundly by global forces right now 바카라 사이트 whether that is through shifts in commodity prices, through the incredible international marketplace which the internet has created, or through the investment decisions being made by international firms which can impact on communities thousands of miles from the board rooms where those decisions are taken.
There is nowhere to hide any more 바카라 사이트 and that is really the theme of my talk this morning: the challenges and opportunities that globalization presents to the Welsh economy; why the UK 바카라 사이트바카라 사이트s radical approach to devolution and decentralisation is both a consequence of globalization and a deliberate policy response (at a national and city level too); and where I think this direction can take us in Wales.
It was while I was at business school myself twelve years ago that I came across a book by Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, which set out some thinking about globalisation which made a deep impression on me.
I had been in New York for a week to observe the leadership and management style of Mayor Michael Bloomberg바카라 사이트s City Hall as part of a study I was doing on Organisational Behaviour. And what a lesson on city leadership and the accountability demanded of the city바카라 사이트s agencies in terms of delivery on transport, housing and policing that was 바카라 사이트 and I will return to that theme later.
But it was when I was travelling back home I picked up a copy of Friedman바카라 사이트s book at the airport.
Friedman used two metaphors, the manufacturing and popularity of Lexus cars and the olive tree which has enormous roots in deserts where ancient peoples still engage in conflict over the ground where it grows, to illustrate two key characteristics of globalisation as he saw it 바카라 사이트 namely the quest for growth and wealth creation in all corners of the world and, at the same time, the struggle to preserve or rediscover identity and roots that give meaning to our lives at a community, tribe or nation level 바카라 사이트 even as the world changes at a breath-taking pace around us바카라 사이트¦
바카라 사이트¦and with capital and investment, trade, information, and people now moving around the globe at speeds, and in volumes, the likes of which were never thought possible.
There are lots that Friedman has to say about all this, and in his later book The World is Flat, but one of the key things for me was the questions it raised about how well equipped was our own nation state 바카라 사이트 with high levels of government spending and rigid and highly centralised structures of government 바카라 사이트 to ride these trends and to prosper in the kind of global system he was talking about.
And then came the crash in 2008바카라 사이트¦ and we were found out.
Our lop-sided economy, built on an over-reliance on a booming banking sector geographically weighted more than ever before to London and the South East, and with the empty edifice of debt-driven government and consumer spending, was found out.
The deficit stood at more than ten per cent of our national income 바카라 사이트 one of the highest of any major advanced economy and the largest in our peacetime history. The British economy had suffered a collapse greater than almost any country in the Western world 바카라 사이트 a dramatic slump in GDP of around 8%, translating into an enormous destruction of wealth 바카라 사이트 with all of the decline in real wage levels and standard of living that went with it.
This is the backdrop against which we as a 바카라 사이트 have been executing a plan since 2010 to restore stability to our national finances and return the country to a balanced budget 바카라 사이트 and ultimately to a position where in normal times we generate a surplus and pay down debt.
All of the big policy challenges that we have been grappling with as a government link back to this.
But while reducing the deficit remains a core and critical element of this plan, there is a much wider vision being driven forward to reshape and rebalance the UK economy 바카라 사이트 so that growth in the future will be more evenly generated across all economic sectors 바카라 사이트 and where innovation plays a much bigger role 바카라 사이트 where investment in world class skills and world class infrastructure is absolutely vital for future success 바카라 사이트 and where we make more and sell more of what we make in new and dynamic markets overseas.
Fundamentally, it바카라 사이트s about putting in place a framework for future economic growth and success in the challenging and unforgiving global economy of the 21st century.
And the vision is also about a more balanced economy geographically 바카라 사이트 where the nations and regions of the United Kingdom close the gap with London and the South East and all parts of our country share in the fruits of economic renewal.
And I believe this vision represents a compelling and exciting opportunity for us here in Wales where the gap with the rest of the UK 바카라 사이트 in terms of productivity, GVA, wages 바카라 사이트 still remains far too wide.
And where the competition is getting ever more intense.
Nobody else is slowing down to allow us to catch up.
So we must seize this opportunity because the world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales.
And so this is where our radical approach to devolution and decentralisation is so important.
Devolution isn바카라 사이트t simply some bolt-on extra to our economic vision. Decentralisation is a key part of rebalancing the economy.
Pushing power downwards can lead to better, more nimble decision-making, more tailored to local circumstances and local markets, and a better chance of capitalising on fast-moving dispersed knowledge.
The logic of globalisation 바카라 사이트 and the correct response to the challenges that globalisation presents 바카라 사이트 is not ever more centralisation; it is the exact opposite.
It is to push power downwards and outwards.
There바카라 사이트s a deep connection between where decisions are made and what works바카라 사이트¦바카라 사이트¦. political and economic solutions more tailored to local circumstances.
As a government we have committed ourselves to delivering a fundamental shift of power from Westminster to the people and communities of this country; promoting unprecedented decentralisation and ending the era of top-down government, by empowering local councils, communities and businesses.
And this has shaped our own approach to devolution for Wales too. We absolutely do recognise the importance of devolution in the context of Welsh nationhood and identity within the United Kingdom 바카라 사이트 what Thomas Friedman would perhaps describe as the Olive Tree dimension: our ancient roots and identity.
But we also want to see the Lexus dimension too 바카라 사이트 an economic dividend for Wales from devolution, with powers being used for much greater effect than what we have seen in the last 16 years 바카라 사이트 and especially in terms of wealth creation and growth.
I believe Wales is already punching above its weight on the global stage in some respects 바카라 사이트 and in recent weeks Cardiff has reminded the world once again why it is such a vibrant and exciting capital city for visitors from all over the world.
But let바카라 사이트s be clear, being positive about the Welsh recovery does not blind us to the serious challenges and weaknesses that remain.
Successful Economies need long-term investment in effective transport links.
Excellent connectivity will bring cities and markets closer together to help create the critical mass to compete globally.
Better connections between economic centres allow clusters to develop even where companies are located apart, supporting more trade, more interactions between businesses and the generation of more products and ideas.
As a 바카라 사이트 we are putting right the chronic underfunding in infrastructure by previous governments, investing a greater share of our nation바카라 사이트s wealth in infrastructure than in the whole period of the last 바카라 사이트.
That바카라 사이트s why this 바카라 사이트바카라 사이트s programme of investment in rail infrastructure in Wales and across the UK is the largest and most ambitious since the development of the rail network in the 19th Century.
Electrification of the Great Western Mainline to Swansea will put South Wales on a much more even footing to compete with the South East as the 바카라 사이트 works to rebalance the economy.
Crossrail will enhance the shorter journey times offered by electrification of the main line 바카라 사이트 bringing the burgeoning financial services sector in Cardiff to within two hours journey time to Canary Wharf, now one of Europe바카라 사이트s most important financial centres.
North Wales transport infrastructure also needs to improve to capture the benefits that HS2 will bring and all of the exciting opportunities being created by our Northern Powerhouse vision which aims to rebuild the economic and civic strength of England바카라 사이트s great northern cities.
But let바카라 사이트s take an honesty check here when it comes to infrastructure.
In recent weeks we have seen some fabulous World Cup matches hosted so brilliantly at the Millennium Stadium, producing a pay-off for the Welsh economy of tens of millions of pounds 바카라 사이트 only for fans to get caught up in traffic gridlock on the M4 resulting in journey times from Cardiff to London in excess of five hours.
That is not acceptable.
Twenty years ago my predecessors in the Wales Office were looking at the need for an upgrade of the M4 motorway between Cardiff and Newport. Devolution was supposed to help make this happen. But the truth is that sixteen years of Welsh devolution has not delivered that strategic project which would overcome a key barrier to growth.
Two years ago the UK 바카라 사이트 struck a deal with Welsh 바카라 사이트 to jump-start that project by providing Welsh 바카라 사이트 with new financial borrowing powers 바카라 사이트 linked to the devolution of minor taxes.
But still business is waiting for any substantial progress on delivery from Welsh 바카라 사이트.
Meanwhile, many of the cities that Cardiff aims to compete with are seeing upgrades in their own transport infrastructure.
The world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales.
On Valleys Line Electrification too 바카라 사이트 that crucial project to better connect deprived Valleys communities with centres of job creation in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport 바카라 사이트one year on from the co-financing deal the Treasury struck with Welsh 바카라 사이트 we have yet to see any concrete proposals for Welsh Ministers for the project. Human capital If devolution is to deliver, we also need the right support to build human capital and generate innovation.
The gap in labour productivity between Wales and the UK is larger than for almost any other region or nation of the UK. Reform of the skills system is necessary to provide cities with the skilled labour businesses need and innovation policy needs to support the development and diffusion of ideas.
Apprenticeships are at the heart of our mission to rebuild and rebalance the economy, with a step-change in the quality and status of vocational education. The UK 바카라 사이트 has set a target of 3 million new apprenticeships over the next five years. This is a huge ambition and will take significant effort to achieve. We are offering support for businesses in England to help meet this and I want to ensure Wales is not left behind. We need a shared ambition right across the UK to deliver this.
I also want to see greater investment in innovation. We have some world class innovators here in Wales - take for example Airbus in Newport and their innovation into Cyber Security, GE Aviation at Nantgarw who are fuelling innovation and its application across the aerospace industry, and General Dynamics with their EDGE innovation network, which brings together industry leaders, academia and innovators with end users and customers in an open, collaborative environment.
And this week, Cardiff University바카라 사이트s expertise in researching and developing innovative technologies was recognised by Innovate UK, the UK 바카라 사이트바카라 사이트s innovation agency, as the location, along with five other regional centres, for the UK바카라 사이트s centres of excellence for Precision Medicines 바카라 사이트 a global market estimated to be worth Β£14bn and expected to grow to Β£50bn in 2020. The Precision Medicine Catapult has the potential to develop into a global industry generating both economic and healthcare benefits.
These are the challenges that should grip us and be our priority.
But there바카라 사이트s a real danger in Wales that our full economic potential is being hamstrung by a never-ending constitutional debate focused on a theoretical discussion about 바카라 사이트powers바카라 사이트 which is entirely divorced from the practical importance of what these powers can actually achieve바카라 사이트¦
바카라 사이트¦where we spend years, decades even, locked in a prolonged constitutional argument about the finer points of devolution which does nothing to address the productivity challenge or our skills gap.
I long for the day when a Prime Minister or Chancellor of the Exchequer can visit Wales and the first question they바카라 사이트re asked is not about devolution and 바카라 사이트powers바카라 사이트 but is actually about how we create a world-beating dynamic economy here in Wales.
And there바카라 사이트s a decision for all political leaders in Wales to make here 바카라 사이트 are we willing to reach agreement and settlement on these questions and move on to the issues that will determine whether we succeed or fail in the 21st century?
바카라 사이트¦Because the world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales.
I have made no secret that my number one passion, my number one ambition, is not constitutional reform 바카라 사이트 but to see economic transformation for my nation of Wales.
The draft Wales Bill which I published last week recognises there is a strong appetite in Wales for a greater say over Welsh affairs within a stronger United Kingdom.
It provides an opportunity to draw a line under the constant debates about devolution which have characterised Welsh politics for too long. I am totally open to ideas on how we improve the draft Bill but the rhetoric coming from Cardiff Bay in recent days that the Bill should become their new cause celebre to prolong and deepen the debate about powers is, I believe, deeply misplaced.
We have a mature, respected legislature in the National Assembly, which will soon assume through the Wales Bill even more powers. And the Welsh 바카라 사이트 itself will also get important new powers. I believe that these should be supplemented by new tax raising powers so that there is, for the first time, a true bond of financial accountability between Welsh 바카라 사이트 and Welsh taxpayers 바카라 사이트 and with it new levers that can make a practical difference economically.
We have already spent far too long on this discussion in Wales. And we need to make progress. Because the risk is that we fall behind while the world moves on.
Last week the Chinese president visited Manchester to see how one of the UK바카라 사이트s major cities is re-inventing itself as the hub of the Northern Powerhouse. The leader of one of the world바카라 사이트s largest economies saw a city where its civic leaders, from across the political divide, have seized the opportunity of more powers to shape their destiny.
Greater Manchester is blazing a trail, with a devolution package which delivers decision making over important local priorities, including economic development, local transport, housing, skills and vital public services like health and social care- with a combined authority led by a directly elected mayor. It will also be the first English region to gain greater control of its Health budget 바카라 사이트 a Β£6 billion budget.
Wales suddenly has one more competitor.
One of the most radical aspects of the UK 바카라 사이트 since 2010 is our determination to decentralise and push powers downwards and outwards 바카라 사이트and backing it up with real economic and financial powers to harness innovation.
We are determined to unlock the civic and economic potential of our great cities. For as long as we can remember, cities have played an integral role in the political, economic and civic life of great nations.
Yet during the twentieth century, we witnessed a decisive shift of power and influence in favour of London and the south-east of England, often at the expense of our major cities.
For too long, governments have acted as though taking powers away from our great cities is the best way to create growth, rather than trusting the people living there to find their own specific solutions to meet their own local needs.
That is why as a government, we want powerful, innovative cities that are able to shape both their political and economic destinies, and get our local and national economies growing.
Like Manchester, Cardiff came into its own during the nineteenth century and has seen some remarkable transformations in the last twenty five years. But the world is not standing still.
As Manchester, Glasgow, Sheffield and others now power ahead 바카라 사이트 spurred on by bespoke city and regional deals 바카라 사이트 there is a risk that Cardiff is now left in the slow lane.
That cannot be allowed to happen.
To unlock the full potential of our cities, we are shifting even more powers and levers so that local leaders and businesses can continue to drive political and economic renewal.
A quiet revolution is taking place in the way Britain is governed. Rather than Whitehall setting the template, we are inviting cities and the business community to 바카라 사이트do things their way.바카라 사이트 Giving local areas powers and freedoms to help support economic growth, create jobs and drive investment. Entrusting local areas with responsibility for decisions that affect their area.
The government has already concluded deals with Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Bristol and the West of England, Greater Manchester, Leeds City Region, Liverpool City Region, Nottingham, Newcastle, and the Sheffield City Region.
The core cities have estimated that the first wave of deals will create 175,000 jobs over the next 20 years and 37,000 new apprenticeships.
Crucially, this is a vision which is not confined to England.
In Scotland we have delivered the Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal, one of the largest ever agreed. This exciting project is estimated to create 29,000 jobs, and supporting over 5,500 unemployed people back into sustained employment. Early indications suggest that an estimated Β£3.3billion of private sector investment will be leveraged into the proposed infrastructure investment programme.
This deal provides an example of what can be achieved when all levels of government, businesses, universities and the voluntary and community sector work together to promote economic growth. A shared endeavour 바카라 사이트 and in a devolved national context too.
And we want to extend this offer to other major cities and local authorities right across the United Kingdom 바카라 사이트 including Wales.
Here in Wales we have one of Europe바카라 사이트s youngest capital cities 바카라 사이트 a city that is quickly achieving a reputation for being upbeat, vibrant, innovative and entrepreneurial.
It sits at the heart of a city-region that is home to almost half the entire population of Wales and is projected to grow by 26 per cent over the next 20 years.
I genuinely believe Cardiff is on the cusp of something great. Our capital city can use its position as an insurgent challenger to some of Britain and Europe바카라 사이트s great cities to shape its economic future and become one of the best places in the world to live, to visit, to study and to do business.
The UK 바카라 사이트 has set this agenda in motion and I want Welsh 바카라 사이트, Cardiff City and the other neighbouring local authorities, alongside the business community and Higher Education, to seize this opportunity바카라 사이트¦
바카라 사이트¦ to work with the UK 바카라 사이트, to make Cardiff an engine of innovation and wealth creation for the benefit of the whole of Wales.
But also, crucially, a City Deal in Cardiff presents the opportunity the make some fundamental changes to governance in Wales.
For if we are to rebalance the economy, cities need effective leadership and governance.
One of the main reasons for the decline of many cities over the last fifty years is a lack of strong leadership. OECD research has indicated that cities around the world with fragmented governance structures have up to 6% lower levels of productivity than those that do not - a result of incoherent decision making and blurred accountability.
This is of course a matter for the local partners, and for Welsh 바카라 사이트, but no-one should underestimate the importance of addressing questions of governance and leadership when talking about Cardiff바카라 사이트s future.
We have a brilliant opportunity with the emerging Cardiff City Deal but the message to the local partners and Welsh 바카라 사이트 is to keep it moving forward. Other cities in the UK are trying to skip past us in the queue and are looking to strike growth deals with the Treasury. The world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales.
And why should decentralisation stop at Cardiff?
There is enormous potential in Swansea too. Or the North Wales region where there isn바카라 사이트t a central city but nevertheless a distinct identity and economic structure which can be a platform for growth and renewal given the right tools and leadership.
But here lies a challenge for Welsh 바카라 사이트 바카라 사이트 to be a vehicle of decentralisation and devolution within Wales.
A reputation for centralisation and top-down control is at odds with the move to push powers downwards and outwards which we believe is key to capturing the economic opportunities that the 21st century offers.
This is an important part of the devolution debate which has barely featured in Wales over the past 15 years.
Why shouldn바카라 사이트t we see our very own devolution package for all corners of Wales?
We live in an age of radical change 바카라 사이트 an age of turbulent, global challenges. But the priority of most Welsh people remains the same. It is about their jobs, their quality of life, the standard of public services, and the financial security of their families and loved ones.
With the economic indicators all moving in the right direction, I believe Wales now has a golden opportunity to move forwards and achieve its potential as an outward-looking nation that punches well above its weight in the global economy.
It is high time we focused political debate in Wales on how powers can be used for the people of Wales.
This is what underpins my devolution vision.
Not devolution for devolutions sake, but devolution with a purpose바카라 사이트¦
바카라 사이트¦Devolution which unlocks investment, innovation and human capital so that Wales can succeed in the global race.
Because the world won바카라 사이트t wait for Wales.
My dream is that within twenty years Wales will be a beacon of economic success 바카라 사이트 where world class transport connections bring people from all over the world to visit and do business, and to learn the lessons from our world beating innovation, where our hubs in sectors like life sciences, compound semiconductors, advanced materials, aerospace, financial services underpin our productivity growth and standards of living that are least as good as the UK average, where the primary school children of today who are once again learning software coding have become a new generation of Welsh innovators and entrepreneurs, and where the apprentices on the factory floors today have become managers and business leaders creating jobs and new opportunities that are the envy of the rest of the UK.
Our destiny is not to be a nation of plucky losers but to have the ambition to take on the very best 바카라 사이트 and to win.
But I do sometimes have a nightmare that twenty years from now actually our national life will still be characterised by an ongoing inward-looking debate about Welsh powers and the constitution, where we still prop up the bottom of the economic league tables within the United Kingdom바카라 사이트¦ and where we are still discussing the need for that damn M4 upgrade.
It doesn바카라 사이트t need to be like this. But we need to crack on.
Because the world is not waiting for Wales.