The Wolverhampton Debates - 10:24 am, Mon 9th Jul 2012
Tonight will see the first in a series of discussions about Wolverhampton’s future called The Wolverhampton Debates.
I approached the Vice Chancellor of Wolverhampton University and the City Council’s Chief Executive with the idea last year. I wanted us to focus on the city’s future and what we might do about the key challenges the city faces: what will Wolverhampton do for a living in the future and how could it create more jobs; what can we do to raise the levels of ambition and standards in the local education system to give young people more opportunities; how can we tackle the public health issues facing the city; how could we improve the quality of life for the city’s residents and visitors?
I was clear that the economy was the number one issue and keen to begin the Wolverhampton Debates with Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England. Sir Mervyn went to school in Wolverhampton and has retained an association with the city. He has been at the heart of the country’s response to the economic storms of recent years. He is ideally placed to talk about our economic future.
Tonight at Wolverhampton University, Sir Mervyn will give his talk to an audience of business, education and political leaders in Wolverhampton. The next debate in the series is planned to be on education in the Autumn.
