Stoke-on-Trent MPs have met with the Home Secretary to discuss bringing civil service jobs to the city.
On Tuesday 11th May the three Stoke-on-Trent MPs – Jack Brereton, Jonathan Gullis, and Jo Gideon – met with Priti Patel to make their case for relocating the Home Office to the city and present their petition in favour of the move. The meeting follows recent support for the move from key local stakeholders and employers, including Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and Citizens Advice Staffordshire and Stoke North.
Stoke-on-Trent’s MPs are campaigning together to secure the move, which would bring significant investment and hundreds of jobs to the Potteries, under the Government’s ‘Places for Growth’ initiative. Meetings have already been held with Lord Agnew, Minister for State at the Cabinet Office, Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, as well as other ministers and officials across Government.
After the meeting with the Home Secretary, Jack Brereton MP said:
“At the heart of the country, Stoke-on-Trent has so much to offer as the ideal location for a Government department. This could attract in the skilled, well-paid jobs our communities need. I was delighted to meet the Home Secretary with colleagues to talk about the potential benefits to her Department of a civil service hub in North Staffordshire, an area that I know she is already familiar with as a fellow Keele graduate.”
Jonathan Gullis MP said:
“I am so grateful to the Home Secretary for giving us the chance to make our case for establishing a civil service HQ in Stoke-on-Trent.
As we have said previously, Stoke-on-Trent is a city on the up. We have a wealth of local talent, excellent connections to the rest of the UK and one of the best superfast internet networks in the country. There really couldn’t be anywhere better to set up a new HQ.”
Jo Gideon MP added:
"I was pleased to make the case for the relocation of Home Office jobs directly to the Home Secretary. Stoke-on-Trent would benefit from such a move which would create new jobs locally and would be a great example of leading the way for a local job recovery following the pandemic. We continue to see proof that this Government is listening to the voice of Stoke-on-Trent, and I will continue to represent the interests of Stoke-on-Trent at the highest levels of Government."
