The past, as they say, is another country, and nowhere this week was it more striking than when Lord Heseltine strode on to the platform at the Conservative conference in Blackpool. His presence conjured up images of a lost world, two decades ago, when the Internet, Facebook, e-mail, laptops, DVDs, YouTube, broadband and digital cameras were science fiction, and people still bought astronomically expensive CDs in record shops. More importantly for Lord Heseltine's audience, it was also the time when the Conservatives were the natural party of government, with a third election win in a row under their belt. Predictions then that, come 2007, they would have been out of power for a decade, on to their fourth leader in the same period, and facing the prospect of a further five years in opposition would have been as fanciful as predicting the invention of the iPod. But, in one area, change has been much less marked, and it was this that Lord Heseltine addressed with his customary passion. For, as delegates could plainly see walking around Blackpool, the lack of urban regeneration continues to remain a challenge. The UK may be the world's fourth-largest economy and the City of London awash with 25-year-old millionaires, but run-down, decrepit, under-invested coldspots with poor housing, low skills and social problems continue to blight the country. Lord Heseltine, facing similar challenges a quarter of a century ago as environment secretary, steamed ahead with urban development corporations to create the necessary urban infrastructure in areas where heavy industry had vanished. Today's problem areas are more localised, more socially-based, more to do with lack of skills, low ambition and poor education – in other words, more people-orientated. Lord Heseltine, in a thoughtful and heavyweight speech, which only served to underline the paucity of debate during the rest of the conference, recognises the shift in our urban challenges. He realises that ‘simple, national solutions' are no longer the answer to ‘complex and infinitely varied local challenges.' His answer is strengthened local autonomy to tackle local issues, and his comments must resonate across all parties.
