iED in Westminster: Economic Development and the Move to a Modern Industrial Strategy Under a New Government

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, joined around 90 delegates at the Institute of Economic Development (iED) House of Lords reception on Economic Development and the Move to a Modern Industrial Strategy Under a New Government on 19^th March.

The event opened with a speech from iED Chair Tom Stannard, who reflected on progress with the ‘asks’ in the Institute’s pre-election manifesto Grow Local, Grow National, its recent response to the Invest 2035 consultation, and announced a commitment to developing a new member-informed discussion paper on Good Growth: Driving the UK economy with investment in our regions and communities, which would also be the theme of the iED Annual Conference 2025 in Manchester on 25^th November.

Recently appointed iED Patron Stephanie Flanders then discussed her career to date, her role with and aspirations for the iED, and the wider economic development landscape before Baroness Taylor shared a few words with attendees.

Baroness Taylor commented: “What I have heard from Tom and Stephanie is that the whole purpose of what the Institute of Economic Development does is to get things done. That is why I celebrate the Institute and everything it does across the country, wherever that may be. Thank you for everything you do in your organisation to promote development and growth, and I look forward to working with you in my new role.

“My government’s first mission is for growth. I have been involved in local government for around 30 years now, and for the first time our department is right at the heart of that growth mission. There are three reasons for that. One is we need to create the growth by building the 1.5 million homes we have pledged, and we are determined to get to that target. Then we need to enable the growth that we want to see around the country. With the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and with the National Policy Planning Framework, New Homes Accelerator and other work, we are freeing up some of the blockages that exist around building and getting things done. The other thing we need to be is a fostering environment in our neighbourhoods, and we have created a multi-million pound Neighbourhood Fund to enable that growth in deprived areas which have been left behind. Driving the growth from the neighbourhood upwards, as well as delivering it from policy-making.

“Through devolution, we want to see Mayors as champions of their area with the key strategic planning powers, and with a much clearer and stable picture of local government that will be sustainable in unitary authorities across the country.”

Speaking in her first event as iED Patron, Stephanie commented: “All the membership, and certainly the people involved in the Institute of Economic Development, are focused on how to actually get things done in the real world – something that is so often lacking in high-level debates about policy. That is why I am so delighted to now have a closer connection with this organisation and to see how the iED can engage and improve the thinking of the new government around growth. We should not underestimate the importance of organisations like the iED in this day and age. Now we have a government that wants to deliver better, and in theory understands that place-based decision making and knowledge needs to be part of that, and I hope the iED and its members can really help them start to join those two together.”

Tom added: “We had a fantastic afternoon with wonderful colleagues and members at the Institute of Economic Development. It was a pleasure to welcome and speak alongside Baroness Taylor and our new Patron Stephanie Flanders, in her first appearance at our events. It was fantastic to host a large number of our growing 1,500+ UK-wide, public and private sector members to discuss delivery of the new government’s growth mission, and how the iED can support this in practice. A really impressive turnout, member engagement and support, for which huge thanks from all of us on the iED Board.”

Photos from the reception can be viewed here.