MP Urges Fair Funding for East Midlands

0:00On March 18th, Labor MP James Naesh, from Rushcliffe, sparked a key debate in Westminster on Tuesday, March 17th, urging the government to fix. Decades of underfunding in the East Midlands, he called it a national policy failure, with the region getting a persistently unfair share of public money, despite its 5.1 million people. 403,000 businesses, and central UK location. The numbers paying a start picture, earnings lag below the UK average, unemployment sits higher, and productivity is just 84% of the national level. Transport spending per head was only 54% of the UK average in 2023 to 2024, the lowest anywhere, while, real funding was even worse at over 40%, and just the third of what the West Midlands got. From 2019 to 2024, the region missed out on 10.8 billion pounds in transport investment after high-speed two plans, vanished. Residents filled the pinch hard, especially in rural spots, where poor public transport blocks young people from jobs, college, or apprenticeships.

1:07Naesh stressed that, where you grow up, shouldn't cap your future. Fellow MPs like Mansfield, Steve Yim, backed him up, noting lower wages tied directly to that productivity gap, and calling for growth spread. Nationwide, not just in already thriving areas. Naesh pushed for long-term commitments across government departments, sustained investment to over-correct historic wrongs, more devolution to local, leaders, and targeted policies to end 40 years of decline. Minister Miyada Fambalai agreed more needs doing, highlighting recent productivity gains, and praising devolution to mayors like East Midlands. Claire Ward as Keeta Growth. With record investments now flowing into transport, green projects, manufacturing, and defense, the East Midlands stands poised to finally claim its. Fair shot at unlocking real potential. Made in AI.