Lib Dem West Midlands Mayor candidate: Give us fair share of cash and see us soar - WATCH
With arguments raging over whether the West Midlands needs a politician or a business expert to be its first mayor, Beverley Nielsen believes she offers the best of both worlds.
Among the many strings to her bow, the Lib Dem candidate spent 14 years at the CBI and has also served as a councillor and an economic growth expert at Birmingham City University.
"I feel that that a breadth of experience is something that is really important in this role," she said.
Ms Nielsen said she is keen to avoid the 'petty bickering' that she says has dominated aspects of the mayoral debate up to now.
On March 7 the Express & Star is hosting the first public West Midlands Mayor debate - and YOU can be a part of it.
She has vowed to focus on key policies to boost employment in the West Midlands, and also wants to see the region secure a better devolution deal than the one currently on the table.
"This is a poor deal and I will be pushing for a much better deal in the future," she said.
"£1.1bn over 30 years over a period where there has been £4bn worth of cuts.
"If you look at the local councils in the West Midlands they have all made cuts to services due to the drastic reductions in their central government budgets.
"We need to lobby for much more of our fair share. How can you be productive when we are starting off from such a poor position?
"London gets so much more. Give us our fair share and we'll outpace the rest of the country."
Ms Nielsen said that one of her key objectives as Mayor will be to boost opportunities for the region's youth.
"We have one of the youngest populations in Europe here in the West Midlands and also we have the highest proportion of students of any city region," she said.
"The more that you can retain, harness and grow this talent, the more successful we can be as an economy. I'm really focused in policies that will retain and grow our talent."
She has proposed free transport to all young people between aged 16-25, providing they stay to live and work in the region; and will also offer bursaries to young people who study in the area.
"If we can get young people understanding more about businesses the quicker their careers can take off," she added.
Ms Nielsen says she fully understands the view that the mayoral role 'is just another layer of government', but she is adamant that she can deliver the growth the region needs.
With that in mind she has developed a scorecard to 'look at what would it take to drive growth and productivity and also quality of life'.
"That's something that I have openly available for people," she said. "I want to show how we are moving along on all those measures.
"This role can help to hold all of us accountable for our part in making this a better place, to live, grow and develop your business and have your family.
"It is a great place to be, and I want it to be the very best place. I want to bring the best practice from elsewhere in the world to the West Midlands."
As a Liberal Democrat Ms Nielsen maintains a pro-EU stance, and says that as Mayor she will play her part in pushing for single market access for firms across the region.
"I respect the result of the referendum, but people had a binary choice, leave or stay," she said. "Leave has many shades. It is a big spectrum. We now have to get the best deal.
"We are a manufacturing region. I've written about manufacturing quite extensively.
"I believe it accounts for over 30 per cent of our economy in the West Midlands. We need the best access to the single market, our biggest market.
