“The yeast that lifts the whole mattress of dough, the magic sauce, the ketchup of catch-up”. (BoJo 2021)

Burnham says the government is central to his ‘triple helix’ plan for growth

Maurício Alencar www.cityam.com/

Andy Burnham has said politicians are central to his “theory of growth” in his first statement in the House of Commons as Prime Minister. 

Addressing MPs from all parties, Burnham said his ideas for the UK economy centres on a “triple helix approach to economic development” in which universities, businesses and the government foster economic growth. The ‘triple helix’ model was first drawn up in the 1990s by economic theorists Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydesdorff.

He told MPs that devolution provides a “clear answer to the question with which this country has long wrestled” on who drives growth. 

“My theory of growth requires it to be driven with the full authority of the very centre of government, in close partnership with His Majesty’s Treasury,” Burnham said. 

“Number 10 North has been set up with that full focus.”

He said the “triple helix approach” would “build a pro-business culture and an innovation-led economy in all parts of the UK”. 

[Sounds to Owl very much like the mix of talent deployed in the ineffectual and discarded Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). Is it just coincidence that Andy Burnham and Vince Cable (architect of LEPs) attended the same Cambridge college?]

Quadruple/Quintuple Helix – the missing sauces

Note:  Newer versions of the theory add civil society and the natural environment to the framework. Maybe Andy Burnham needs to update his system, or were these omissions deliberate?