Future Debate – How is Young Professional Confidence?

With all the furore and column inches devoted to MPs expenses, the rise of fringe parties and Susan Boyle, the financial crisis and its implications for British business have ostensibly taken a back seat. Birmingham Future and its newly reprised Debates committee hoped to bring the issue back into the spotlight with the first of several debates focusing on the issues affecting Birmingham’s young professional community. Taking place on a balmy summer’s evening at Bevan Brittan as an open forum session (rather like Question Time, though with an audience less likely to heckle), the motion hoped to address a topic close to every young professional in Birmingham: can we be confident about the city’s ability to weather the financial crisis?

Joining Chairman Tim Green were a distinguished panel of 4 with an intimate knowledge of the city. In the blue corner, Deirdre Alden, the Conservative Parliamentary Spokesperson for Birmingham Edgbaston; and Alun Thorne, the Business Editor of the Birmingham Post. And slugging it out with these two heavyweights, in the red corner: Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston; and Professor David Bailey, an academic and commentator currently working as Director of Coventry Business School.

The debate kicked off with brief opening statements from each of the panellists, directly addressing the motion. All four were in agreement that Birmingham can indeed feel extremely confident about its prospects, though for different reasons.

Ms Stuart qualified her comments by first stating that today’s recession is merely a blip compared to that of 1976, when Britain had to go to the IMF; and that any region that is as diverse, with as big a skills range and with the confidence of the West Midlands will emerge from the current meltdown stronger.

Birmingham’s main strength, according to Ms Alden, is its location: unlike many other towns, Birmingham is not built on a river, which has led to fantastic infrastructure, ranging from the road network to the airport. Professional services have replaced traditional manufacturing industries, and with a professional sector with the expertise to rival London – but at lower overheads, more investment is heading the way of the region. The reputation of Birmingham’s three universities, as well as the quality of life and the culture of the city, highlight its unique place in Britain today.

Taking a slightly different approach, Mr Bailey suggested that Birmingham will have problems in the short-term, but that in the long-term the city does have a right to be confident. He commented that what we are experiencing is not a typical recession due to its credit crunch element; indeed, he believes that for the first time since World War II, the Government will not be the main driver of economic growth. However, due to the depreciation of the pound, Britain may well be able to export our way out of trouble – and this is the key to Birmingham’s recovery: the “city of a thousand trades” must trade internationally. We must therefore support sectors which can provide this trade and growth in the long-term.

Mr Thorne believes we have a lot of scope for optimism within different business sectors. However, the key question to ask is whether Birmingham can emerge from the recession as the UK’s second city. He commented that both Birmingham’s manufacturing and professional service sector have plenty of life, and in the case of the professional sector, relatively few redundancies, indicating retention of skills. However, his over-riding frustration lies with the leadership of the city, which he insists is not strong enough to retain the best of the 80,000 students who pass through the city’s education institutions, or to improve the city image.

The debate was then opened to the floor, and a variety of questions were raised. These ranged from what caused the financial crisis (was it partially Robert Peston? Answer: resoundingly no), to whether young professionals would stay in the city with a 50p tax band (Answer: probably yes; as the higher tax rate only affects a tiny proportion of the super rich). One which engendered a healthy discussion was whether the values of young professionals have changed, from money-driven to morality-driven. This was especially poignant given the cynicism currently surrounding bankers and MPs. In particular, Mr Thorne opined that the current graduate uptake by accountancy firms (at roughly 20% of all graduates) will drop as money no longer becomes the main driver: other sectors will benefit accordingly. Recent graduates in attendance agreed, believing that a young professional career is no longer all about the money, or material gains; though advocating rewards for success, the panel and audience concurred that it was all about perspectives and limits. Indeed, when put to a snap poll, the majority of those in attendance believed values in business have changed for good rather than in response to the “storm” of the credit crunch. Ms Stuart, however, warned against cynicism which may see this trend reversed.

Perhaps the most important question related to the feeling that London, as the capital city, sucks in all the talent and wealth from the region. This is, of course, a question that has frequently troubled Birmingham’s young professional community. The panel believed this was caused by 4 main factors: first, the capital city aspect, which undeniably creates a high skill base and attracts investment. Second is Birmingham’s over-reliance on foreign investment and skills: the city needs to be more dynamic and develop these from within – which starts at Universities by developing soft skills. Third, Birmingham’s branding issue; the city is still seen by many as a manufacturing hub, reinforced by the view from the M6 and arrival at New Street Station. Countering this, of course, is the Bullring and the architectural triumph that is Selfridges, though knowledge of both of these is limited outside the city. Why? Because of a lack of clear leadership and direction – indeed, Ms Stuart indicated that if only Birmingham could exhibit clarity of purpose, the city could move forward much more quickly. It was felt this could be achieved by devolving power out of Whitehall and electing a mayor. The final factor is one of confidence: does Birmingham really believe it is the second city, more than the rival claims of Manchester, Leeds or Bristol? Interestingly, in the view of the panel, no.

All of which brought a close to proceedings. Following summaries from each of the panellists, the collected audience was asked to vote on the motion. The overwhelming result (by a majority of most versus one) was yes, Birmingham’s young professionals do indeed have a right to be confident about weathering the financial storm. Whilst this indicates confidence and a bullish attitude to the challenges ahead, it is clear that much work remains to be done, particularly in building the city’s image. If the city’s young professionals go about this the right way, Birmingham can only emerge stronger and better equipped to compete on both the national and international stage.