Labour's Keir Starmer arrives in the Black Country to outline vision for growth
Sir Keir Starmer said 'boosting growth across every region' was top of his agenda as he arrived in the Black Country today.
The Labour leader, his deputy Angela Rayner and shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves are in the region to outline Labour's devolution plans as he brought together his party’s newly-expanded team of mayors.
Labour notched up a string of wins in this year’s mayoral elections, including Richard Parker who narrowly defeated Tory incumbent Andy Street in a high-profile contest.
Sir Keir said the new mayors were 'already setting the agenda' in the face of 'a failing Tory Government that is choking off our economy and hoarding power', Sir Keir said.
The Labour leader will invite the group to help develop a 'gold standard' for boosting local economies when they meet for the first time since the contests.
They will work together to shape Labour’s proposals for new 10-year local growth plans, ensuring they can be delivered quickly if – as polls suggest – the party wins the next General Election.
Existing work Labour highlighted includes Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Strategy, Tracy Brabin’s West Yorkshire Business Board, as well as Sadiq Khan’s plans to create 150,000 jobs in London by 2028.
