Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is very well informed about the need to translate research success into small business success. I am sure that we can discuss it further.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

17. I welcome the new team as well, although I suspect that even the Secretary of State knows that this is not going to be a full English Brexit, but a dog’s Brexit. [Interruption.] Thank you very much; I am here all week. As for the industrial strategy, one of the real problems facing many parts of the country—as was revealed at the time of the referendum—is that they are now post-industrial. They are areas that formerly had one industry, such as tourism, iron and steel, coal or shipbuilding. Will the Secretary of State ensure that we take the opportunity to invest in those forgotten areas, so that we can improve their productivity in particular?

[Greg Clark]

They are not forgotten. The hon. Gentleman is very good at one-liners. The creative industries are an important source of strength, and that includes comedians.

Some of the most successful places in the world, especially cities, have developed in such a way that they have resilience as a result of having different industries. That even applies to cities in which there was formerly a single dominant industry. We want to work with local leaders to ensure that we strengthen the resilience of our own regional centres.