The head of infrastructure taskforce has urged the Midlands to draw up ambitious plans for investment in transport and other major projects.
And Lord Adonis, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said the region would be given the same priority as the north.
He said: “We hear lots about the Northern Powerhouse. But the newly minted Midlands Engine needs to be equally compelling and ambitious.”
For anyone who hasn't got the message, the Midlands Engine is the name the Government has given to the East and West Midlands. It's the equivalent of the Northern Powerhouse, the Chancellor's project to boost the economy of the North of England.
Lord Adonis was speaking to launch an update to a massive infrastructure plan for London, which includes a new line running north to south through the capital, called Crossrail 2.
But he insisted he wanted every part of the country to have a “similarly ambitious” plan setting out the infrastructure it needed to have in place by 2050.
And he made specific reference to the Midlands, saying: “It is good to see that there is to be a new West Midlands Mayor – we now need a Midlands plan which addresses the fundamental connectivity shortcomings of the Midlands, as Manchester is doing with its metro.”
Although he’s a former politician, Lord Adonis is now a major figure in the Chancellor’s plans, as chair of the new National Infrastructure Commission. It was considered to be quite a coup for Mr Osborne when the appointment was announced in October.
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His role is to tell the Government where it should invest money in infrastructure. And while the Treasury is continuing to slash day-to-day spending, infrastructure spending has its own rules and the Chancellor is keen to spend.
Among other things, the Commission is working with Transport for the North, a new transport authority set up to find ways of improving transport links between the North East and the North West. This is likely to mean a new high speed rail line called HS3, running across, or under, the Pennines.
But Lord Adonis made a point of saying that the same opportunities were available to the Midlands.
He said: “The National Infrastructure Commission would be happy to help address the Midlands’ challenges as we are with our work with Transport for the North on HS3.”
Of course, many people will rightly say that talk is cheap. But it’s a start.
And Lord Adonis isn't alone. His attempt to paint the Midlands Engine as equal in importance to the Northern Powerhouse appears to be part of a new approach by the Government as a whole.
It’s as if Ministers have realised that they can no longer be seen to ignore the Midlands.
Our report from February:
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The Chancellor has made no secret of his commitment to creating a Northern Powerhouse since he first set out his vision in a speech in June 2014.
This covers the North East, North West and Yorkshire, and has its own government minister, James Wharton.
In July this year, Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary and MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, revealed his proposal to create a “Midlands Engine”, the equivalent for the Northern Powerhouse in the East and West Midlands.
Our interview with Sajid Javid:
But while he was enthusiastic enough, there was little sign that the rest of government was interested.
Indeed, Mr Wharton told a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference in October that Government departments had learned they needed to demonstrate how policies benefited the North if they wanted to win Treasury funding.
This didn’t sound like good news for Birmingham and the West Midlands.
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But something’s changed. The Government has decided that, at the very least, it needs to be seen to care about the Midlands Engine - and while that’s only a start, it’s a good start. It matters.
For example, when George Osborne stood in for during questions to the Prime Minister this week (with Mr Cameron in Eastern Europe), he faced not one but two questions about the Midlands Engine from Conservative backbenchers - questions which looked very much like they had been planted to give him a chance to talk about it.
One of them came from Wendy Morton, Conservative MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, who asked about apprenticeships, adding: “What are the Government doing to help small businesses to help people into training and employment, thereby securing the economy of the Midlands Engine for future generations?”
Mr Osborne told her: “The great news is that jobs are being created in the Midlands Engine, including in my honourable friend’s constituency, and we are investing in infrastructure there as well.”
And Mr Javid last week launched the Midlands Engine Prospectus at .
It included plans for a “Midlands Engine trade mission”, which he will lead next year to promote the region to investors and trade partners.
There was also a promise of support for Midlands Connect, a new regional transport body similar to Transport for the North.
And the prospectus highlighted backing (announced in the Chancellor’s Spending Review) for the Energy Research Accelerator, which involves six leading universities as well as firms such as Jaguar Land Rover.
The aim is to make the Midlands a world leader in the development of affordable low-carbon energy and technologies, and the Government is providing £60 million.
Speaking of the Spending Review, it was noticeable that when the Chancellor delivered the review in a statement to the Commons he actually mentioned the Midlands (boasting about the number of new jobs created) before he mentioned the Northern Powerhouse.
A minor point perhaps. But it was in stark contrast to previous similar statements, in which the Chancellor focused on the North and barely mentioned the Midlands.
It would still be a wrong to suggest that the Midlands is being given the same prominence as the North in the government’s thinking, despite the role played by Mr Javid who is a genuine big-hitter in government (and an ally of Mr Osborne, as his former Parliamentary aide).
But the message coming out of Whitehall is that the Midlands does matter. If we ever were ignored in the past, we’re not being ignored now.
We wait to see whether the rhetoric is matched by the reality, but the change in rhetoric provides some grounds for optimism.