Western Gateway in Parliament

The Western Gateway is working to champion South Wales and Western England on a national and international stage.   

We’ve had a really successful first half of the year as we deliver our ambition for a greener, fairer future. Highlights include the launch of our 2050 Rail Vision, supporting investment into the area through our presence with our partners at MIPIM and UKREiiF, the launch of our hydrogen delivery pathway at our hugely successful Hydrogen Gateway conference and our continued work to showcase the opportunity for new nuclear and green energy technologies at Severn Edge.

Crucial to this is the work of our local Members of Parliament who have shown a dedication to working cross-party to promote the interests of our area.  In this blog I wanted to outline some of the ways we support this activity and why it’s important.

The Western Gateway All-Party Parliamentary Group

Led by Co-Chairs, Jessica Morden MP and the Sir Robert Buckland KC MP, politicians from across the Western Gateway area regularly come together to discuss how they can support work going on in the area through the Western Gateway All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).  This APPG is an essential forum led by our co-chairs, where local politicians can hear from experts on the great work going on in the area.

We recently hosted a meeting of the Western Gateway APPG looking at why we believe the area has the potential become the UK’s Green Energy Powerhouse.

We were joined by Professor Tim Mays, Principal Investigator for UK HyRes, Peter Kydd, Strategic Advisor at WSP, and Andy Bates, Nuclear South West.  Each gave their perspective to our MPs about the scale of opportunity in the area and why they believe it has the potential to play a key role in developing efficient net zero technology around Hydrogen, Tidal and Nuclear energy.

This kind of discussion provides a valuable source of information for local politicians, improving our shared understanding of where the barriers to growth exist across the area to inform policy decisions.

Rail Parliamentary Reception

Quick and efficient transport has long been a problem for our area. Despite this, the Western Gateway economy continues to grow a highly skilled workforce that presents huge potential, creates innovative businesses, high tech clusters and world leading industry.

A fully functioning and efficient rail system is essential if we are to reach our carbon emission targets and improve our below average productivity.

We launched our 2050 Rail Vision earlier in the year which outlines the ambitions for the future of rail across the Western Gateway. We aim to become a leader in rail innovation, provide transformational benefits to local communities, provide the opportunity to unlock huge potential by adding £34bn to the UK economy, and on top this, offer a programme of work that is deliverable.

Our Rail Parliamentary Reception in September will bring together key stakeholders including industry leaders and politicians to deliberate on innovative rail solutions.  With the support of MPs, Peers and industry specialists, we want to use this national support to attract investment form both public and private sector..

Party Conference Season

Possibly the biggest event of the political calendar, members of parliament and local authority leaders from across Western Gateway will be representing the area at this year’s Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party Conferences.

They will attend alongside leaders from other regions across the UK.  We will be assisting them by showing how our area collaborates effectively together to represent itself alongside other UK regions and can continue make the case for further investment.

Together, these opportunities are vital in helping build greater knowledge of the potential of the Western Gateway area among our representatives in parliament and through that inform policy makers to make the best decisions for our area.