The fragmented approach to what might have been a huge feather in the region's re-generation cap - attracting millions of pounds of investment and creating thousands of jobs - caused the West Midlands' bid to fall at the first hurdle. The degeneration of the internal debate, resulting in mudslinging and name-calling between Birmingham City FC and the NEC, coupled with the existence of a strong rival bid from neighbouring Coventry, sealed the region's fate as a non-player in the casino stakes. Mr Blackett hopes that lesson has been taken to heart by the agencies, local authorities and NGOs that make up the patchwork power base in the region. Because there is now a much bigger prize on offer - and like the casino opportunity, it is a one-off winner-takes-all scenario which could be torpedoed by back-biting and bickering. "Perhaps the greatest prize that I foresee for Birmingham is the ability to exploit the government's declared wish to devolve decision-making to the UK's major cities," says Mr Blackett, whose every waking moment is being devoted to the task of gaining a detailed understanding of what makes the Birmingham/West Midlands economy tick in readiness for taking over the reins from outgoing chief executive Sue Battle in September. His dream is for a Birmingham at the heart of a thriving city-region, able to raise its own taxes, and decide how they should best be spent. "The UK is Europe's most centralised economy in terms of decision making," says Mr Black-ett. "Something like 90 per cent of all decisions affecting Birmingham are taken in London, and the consensus in government is that this is not a good thing." This concern does not affect only Birmingham. The government is anxious to explore new ways of funding regional government, and is actively seeking big-city partners for a pilot programme. Birmingham is in there, but so is arch-rival Manchester - both of them considered front-runners. Mr Blackett is convinced there is no more pressing objective than to convince central government it can trust local politicians and business leaders to make better decisions about local issues that it can itself - and to ensure that the first opportunity to prove this should go to Birmingham. "The review of local government finance by Sir Michael Lyons (former chief executive of Birmingham City Council), carried out on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, provides a real opportunity for Birmingham to demonstrate how we would make better decisions about things like transport and schools, if the power to do so were vested in us and we didn't have to keep asking central government for permission," says Mr Blackett. In his vision for the future, he looks to the past for inspiration, to the heyday of a city which produced civic leaders of national note with a strongly-entrenched sense of civic duty. The line extends from Chamberlain in the 30s to the Cadbury family in the 50s and 60s, a perfect example of business leaders not afraid to take on the mantle of civic leadership. Mr Blackett would like to see the return of a breed of business leaders keen to play a wider role in the community. "We seem to have lost that somewhere along the line," he says. "The best of our business leaders are isolated from the city to a degree that I think is unfortunate. We have to re-engage these people in order to tap their great potential, and regain some of the energy Birmingham once had." More controversially, perhaps, he is also prepared to consider the possibility that business taxation should be returned to local hands after 15 years under the control of central government - a measure introduced under the Thatcher government to prevent local authorities easing the burden on householders by forcing businesses to shoulder the bulk of the rates burden. Safeguards would have to be implemented, but he feels businesses might look favourably on local taxation if they could see how their money was being spent to make the city a better place to do business. "If we could re-engage business leaders with the democratic workings of the city we could begin to capitalise on the assets we have, and aspire to make Birmingham the best place in Europe to set up and run a business," says Mr Blackett. "What I mean by that is the least regulated, most welcoming city where success is the easiest to achieve." | 
