Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands

Catherine Atkinson Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing this important debate. I welcome a debate on productivity and economic growth in the east midlands, because it is a region with extraordinary potential, but for far too long that potential has been under-realised. Nowhere is that more evident than in Derby.

Derby is a city that helped to power the industrial revolution. The River Derwent, which runs through our city, once powered the mills that transformed Britain’s economy. Today, Derby remains at the heart of Britain’s industrial strength. We are home to globally significant engineering and manufacturing industries, from aerospace to rail, with thousands of highly skilled workers who design, build and maintain some of the most advanced technology in the world—technology that is crucial to this Government’s industrial strategy.

For years, however, under Conservative mismanagement, deindustrialisation and chronic under-investment, regional disparities have meant that our region has not fulfilled its potential. Nowhere is that clearer than in transport. The east midlands received a lower level of spending per person than any other region. If our region had received just the UK average across the five years between 2019 and 2024, we would have had an additional £10 billion. That is billions’ worth of missing rail connections and bus services that would have connected people to work, training and opportunities.

We cannot talk about economic growth without discussing investment in the skills that drive productivity. Derby is a city of makers, and we are known for our skilled workforce, but even in Derby it is clear that additional investment in our skills is essential. At the Nuclear Skills Academy, Rolls-Royce and the University of Derby are already delivering 200 apprenticeships a year, but there is so much appetite for good skills to deliver good jobs. I believe that Great British Railways, which will have its headquarters in Derby, can and should be an important vehicle for the skills that we need. We can also see that appetite at Derby’s university technical college, which has specialisms in engineering and life sciences. There were 450 applicants for just 100 places. If we are to deliver what we need and deliver what Team Derby foresees—good jobs, regeneration and skills—we need to ensure that we are investing in our future.