How Preston City Council is managing its finances has won praise from Labour’s shadow chancellor. John McDonnell MP said initiatives being run by the city council to drive up local spending and working with the local Chamber of Commerce were a ‘new economics’.
Public sector organisations like councils and colleges can do much to work with suppliers on their doorstep and stimulate local economies. In Lancashire work is underway to ‘repatriate’ spending. Anchor institutions are crucial components of our towns and cities. Commonly including local authorities, further and higher education providers, and housing organisations, they are key employers and procurers, embedded in their communities and unlikely to leave. In a UK context, the potential of anchor institutions to contribute to wider local economic development has been untapped – until now.
