Director of the Heseltine Institute, Professor Alan Harding; Lord Heseltine; Exec Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Derrington and Liverpool City Council Chief Executive, Ged Fitzgerald
The University of Liverpool is to launch an Institute for Public Policy and Practice that will be named in honour of Lord Heseltine in recognition of his commitment to giving cities greater powers to shape their own futures, and his role in revitalising Liverpool.
Lord Heseltine is a senior adviser to the Coalition Government on growth, focusing on the regeneration of cities. Last year, along with Sir Terry Leahy, he produced the report ‘Rebalancing Britain’, which looked at the potential for growth, job creation and investment in Liverpool and its city region and called for the Government to invest directly in infrastructure and development opportunities in the city.
Fitting and natural choice
Professor Sir Howard Newby, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, said: “Naming the Institute after Lord Heseltine is a fitting and natural choice. He is one of the most respected British political figures of the last 40 years, is a significant champion of the city and remains at the forefront of the UK debate on securing economic recovery.”
Professor Alan Harding, the Director of the Institute, said: “Lord Heseltine has set out a challenging agenda which sees the success and sustainability of our major provincial cities as key to economic rebalancing and the UK’s future competitiveness. We are delighted to join forces with him and bring the university’s expertise to bear on how those aspirations are realised in practice. “
Lord Heseltine said: “The University of Liverpool has a critical role to challenge the status quo and shape the future policy agenda, use its intellectual energy to provide new and independent perspectives and above all, offer inventive and useful solutions, which are vital in a climate of austerity, economic recovery and profound societal change.”
Research on key policy areas
The Heseltine Institute, which will officially launch in November 2013, is looking to connect research opportunities from around the world and major policy issues experienced closer to home.
By drawing on international expertise at the University and working closely with policy-makers, practitioners and the public on the design and delivery of projects, it will produce accessible research on key policy areas such as economic change; health and well-being; and governance and democracy.
Further details about the Institute can be found at http://www.liv.ac.uk/heseltine-institute/
Seeing this Institute being set up in the name of Lord Heseltine reminds me of what a potentially great Prime Minister he could have been. A self-made millionaire, brilliant orator and ‘one nation’ politician, who genuinely cares about regional development in Britain. He will probably best be remembered for bringing down Thatcher, but reflecting on the inadequacies of her successors (Major and Blair) only reminds you of what could have been.