Local & Regional Development

An increasing concern of national and regional policymaking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is provision of timely data on real-time economic performance and underlying activities throughout different parts of the nation and regions to give a complete signal about a fair, just, and long-lasting recovery plan for all. This briefing note outlines the economic recovery plan of the West Yorkshire region as a direct response to a request by West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The economic recovery plan has naturally evolved from a necessary immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic to a broader re-imaging of developing a sustainable, fair and inclusive economy. This evolution brings with it a necessity to reconceptualise the aims and approaches of economic forecasting in West Yorkshire and the measurement of success.

The purpose of this report is to look at working-class involvement in local government and regional decision making. It covers whether there is engagement, at what level, and in what depth. It further offers a brief outline of what it means to be defined as working class, given that there are distinctions that set the UK apart from other countries (LSE study, 2021). The report will also look at how policy is determined and how consultation and participation by various actors feed into that process. A short survey of those involved in policymaking feeds into this report as does previous research undertaken for Wakefield District Council around poverty (Jose 2019). A rich vein of local community engagement around existing projects, such as the implementation of local community food shops. Recently the term “community engagement” has come to the fore in local government circles and is driven by a framework of ideas, ideologies, strategies and methods.