City Talks: Neil O’Brien MP on building a strong national economy from the bottom up

In this episode of City Talks, Andrew Carter is joined by Neil O’Brien, who is MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire, and former special advisor to Prime Minister Theresa May as well as to the erstwhile chancellor George Osborne. He is also the author of many reports, the latest one being Firing on all cylinders: Building a strong economy from the bottom up, which was published by Onward, the advisory board of which he is a member.

This report, which forms the basis of this episode, examines the actions that need to be taken to make all parts of the country and all groups in society share in the benefits of the growing economy – in short, a ‘trickle-up’ plan. It also proposes an approach to spurring growth which is pro-business, but in a way which aims to help the neediest places help themselves to move forward.

The discussion looks at what has and hasn’t worked historically in terms of stimulating growth, particularly in places outside London, as well as rebalancing the economy.

This episode is part of the Centre for Cities City Talks series. Please rate, review and share the episode if you enjoyed it.