Britain must stop allowing its best ideas to generate jobs and wealth in Europe, America and China rather than at home, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker warned today, as he called for the region to lead a new era of British industrialisation.

The Mayor made the call at the West Midlands Growth Summit in Coventry, where Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also addressed business leaders, as regional and national government announced measures to turn British innovation into businesses, production and jobs at home.

In a major speech, Mr Parker argued that Britain has become too comfortable celebrating invention and research without ensuring the businesses, factories and supply chains that follow are established here.

He positioned the West Midlands, with its established industrial base and advanced innovation capabilities, as uniquely placed to lead Britain's next phase of industrial growth.

Challenging the region to think on a global scale, he asked: “why shouldn’t the next great global manufacturing company start in Tipton, scale in Coventry, and go global from Birmingham?”

The Mayor cited Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic, as an example of the global scale West Midlands businesses could aspire to.

He also pointed to Coventry, the Summit's host city, as evidence that this next industrial age is already taking shape.

He highlighted Lawton Tubes, which manufactures specialist copper pipes used to deliver oxygen to hospital patients; Aurrigo, which develops and manufactures autonomous vehicle technology for airports worldwide; and Maeving, which designs and builds electric motorcycles in the city.

Together, he argued, these businesses demonstrate how the West Midlands can combine its established manufacturing expertise with new technologies to build companies that grow, export and create jobs locally.

The region is already home to around 273,000 manufacturing jobs and generates £22 billion in annual manufacturing output, making it one of Britain's deepest and most diverse industrial economies. It is the only UK region with recognised strengths across all eight sectors of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy.

This ambition was set out in the West Midlands Reindustrialisation Blueprint, which the Mayor published at the Summit. The Blueprint outlines how the region intends to turn more research and innovation into businesses that scale, manufacture and employ people in the West Midlands.

To put that ambition into practice, the Mayor and Business Secretary unveiled a series of investments and initiatives to help manufacturers cut costs, support workers moving into growing industries and enable businesses to bring new technologies into production.

These include more than £13 million in combined public and private investment through DRIVE35 to support Longbow Motors, Birmingham manufacturer Brandauer and PAB Coventry; a new Battery Manufacturing Taskforce; a Talent Transition Pilot; and a further £18.4 million for the Business Energy Advice Service.

Among the businesses receiving support is Longbow Motors, the British electric sports car manufacturer, which will receive funding through the DRIVE35 Supplier Readiness and Transformation Fund to establish a new production line in the West Midlands.

The Mayor presented Longbow as an example of the kind of company the region must help to scale, turning emerging technologies into production.

The Mayor said: “This is how we turn good ideas into growth.”

Speaking ahead of the Summit, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

“The West Midlands is at the forefront of our mission to reindustrialise, and this plan shows why. Through our Modern Industrial Strategy we’re supporting our manufacturing heartlands like the West Midlands, backing local leaders to create jobs and prosperity.

"I want to thank the Mayor of the West Midlands for his leadership and ambition for the region, and I look forward to working with him to deliver on his plan.”

Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker said:

“Good ideas aren’t enough. Britain has often been very good at the invention and the research, then watched as the production, jobs and value were created in Europe, America or China.

“The economic prize comes when you can take an idea, build a company around it, scale it and make it here. This is the region best placed to do exactly that.

“We want companies to grow here, production to happen here and the value created by that success to stay here.

“Britain’s first industrial age started here. If Britain is serious about building the next one, this is where it should start again.”