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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GettyPeter Thiel with US President Donald Trump.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Peter Thiel turned both barrels on Silicon Valley in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/peter-thiel-google.html">blistering New York Times op-ed on Thursday</a>.</li><li>The tech billionaire said the tech scene is marked by an "extreme strain of parochialism" and is a place where people have done "exceedingly well for themselves" while others have suffered.</li><li>His arguments are likely to play well with the White House, where President Donald Trump has been thunderous in attacking America's biggest tech companies.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-new-york-times-op-ed-google-china-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">Peter Thiel turned up the heat on Google in a blistering New York Times op-ed on Thursday</a>, but he also pointed both barrels at Silicon Valley in general.Thiel, a billionaire tech investor who co-founded Paypal, cast his eyes around at his peers and branded them "incurious" to the issues beyond their own bubble.In a stinging assessment of Google's decision to establish an AI lab in China, while also withdrawing from US military contract "Project Maven," he said it was symptomatic of a narrow Silicon Valley outlook."How can Google use the rhetoric of 'borderless' benefits to justify working with the country whose 'Great Firewall' has imposed a border on the internet itself?" Thiel asked."This way of thinking works only inside Google's cosseted Northern California campus, quite distinct from the world outside."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-new-york-times-op-ed-google-china-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">Peter Thiel just cranked up his attack on Google's 'naïve' relationship with China in a blistering New York Times op-ed</a>At this point, he broadened his critique of Google to the wider California tech scene."The Silicon Valley attitude sometimes called 'cosmopolitanism' is probably better understood as an extreme strain of parochialism, that of fortunate enclaves isolated from the problems of other places - and incurious about them," he wrote.He later said that the Valley and Wall Street are an "archipelago of inward-looking," adding that they are places where people have done "exceedingly well for themselves while their fellow citizens have been left behind in a stagnant economy."Thiel is, of course, inextricably linked to this Valley and Wall Street bubble.His net worth stands at $2.5 billion, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/peter-thiel/#3d06b62b533a">according to Forbes</a>. He is a board member at Facebook, one of the world's most valuable companies. He has investments in other tech giants, like Airbnb and Lyft, which went public at a $24 billion valuation in April. Thiel recently sold his $7.4 million San Francisco mansion and paid $5 million for a cottage in the Hollywood Hills, <a href="https://variety.com/2019/dirt/real-estate/peter-thiel-house-1203263941/">according to Variety.</a>Nevertheless, his arguments are likely to play well with the White House, where President Donald Trump has been thunderous in attacking America's biggest tech companies and their supposed - but unproven - liberal bias. It also coincides with Trump waging a vicious trade war with China, the very country Thiel is raising the alarm over.Currying favor with the president is a strategy that appears to suit Thiel's investments well. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-01/peter-thiel-missed-out-on-china-now-he-s-betting-on-patriotism">As Bloomberg's Lizette Chapman points out</a>, the revenue of three of his companies - SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril - relies heavily on government contracts.Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-benefits-amazon-prime-power-user-2017-7">7 lesser-known benefits of Amazon Prime</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Peter Thiel turns both barrels on Silicon Valley's 'extreme strain of parochialism'

When love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> is bound to come up with a <keyword id="24069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="romantic-comedy">romantic comedy</keyword>. But when ad film-maker <keyword id="1612592" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinil-Mathew">Vinil Mathew</keyword>’s directorial debut <keyword id="1520199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hasee-Toh-Phasee">Hasee Toh Phasee</keyword> hit the screen a week before <keyword id="4167782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-day">V-Day</keyword> (February 7), it turned out to be a better love feast than the run-of-the-mill romances. Much of the credit goes to the lead duo – <keyword id="562349" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parineeti-Chopra">Parineeti Chopra</keyword> and <keyword id="1320874" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sidharth-Malhotra">Sidharth Malhotra</keyword> – and the <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword>, of course, who tweaked all the usual Bollywood masala into an earthy and sharp reality without stripping the flick of its dream elements. And going by the <keyword id="2034852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-numbers">box office numbers</keyword>, we dare say that the audience loves those experiments garbed in the feel-good raiment. In other words, this Parineeti-Sidharth starrer has different offerings at different levels – whether you take it as an arty-commercial experiment or just another love story, with some nuances that can push you out of your comfort zone. 
 So how has the film fared at the box office so far? The Rs 25 crore <keyword id="1636016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rom-com">rom-com</keyword>, jointly produced by <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword>’s <keyword id="62161" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dharma-Productions">Dharma Productions</keyword> and <keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword>’s <keyword id="1352720" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Phantom-Productions">Phantom Productions</keyword>, hit about 2,000 screens across the country and grossed around Rs 17-18 crore at home during the first weekend, according to industry estimates. <keyword id="1861689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="overseas-collection">Overseas collection</keyword>s stood at a little over $1 million. The <keyword id="2014761" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Occupancy-rate">occupancy rate</keyword> was 50-80% during the opening weekend and stayed at 50% on the crucial Day 4 (February 10) in the domestic market, bringing in around Rs 6 crore. Overseas collection on the 4th day was around Rs 1.5 crore. However, the movie is expected to do much better at the box office during the <keyword id="2054858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-Day-week">V-Day week</keyword>. 
 
Karan Johar is also happy with the way things are going. “Thank you for the immense love and appreciation for Hasee Toh Phasee, a film I am extremely proud of,” he tweeted on Sunday. 
 
The rom-com is expected to ride on critical acclaim and we feel that is justified to some extent. For one, director Vinil Mathew (best known for his Cadbury: Kuch meetha ho jaye commercials) knows how to tell a good story, blending reality with cinematic magic. And writer <keyword id="1989065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Harshvardhan-Kulkarni">Harshvardhan Kulkarni</keyword> has aptly supported him. The film is essentially a quirky love story between <keyword id="19563" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="meeta">Meeta</keyword> (Parineeti) and Nikhil (Sidharth) – a modern-day take about life, love and relationships. Consequently, you see a runaway professional and a turbulent soul in Meeta, who has brains but takes drugs, steals money from her family and tries to whisk off her sister <keyword id="5405" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karishma">Karishma</keyword>’s (<keyword id="16234" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adah-Sharma">Adah Sharma</keyword>) fiancé who is also a long-time friend of Meeta. Sidharth, on the other hand, is a more staid character with his commitments firmly in place. The resulting story weaves the chemistry between the odd pair while <keyword id="6362839" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manoj-Joshi">Manoj Joshi</keyword> does some good work as Meeta and Karishma’s father. 
 
But one still wonders why all the soul-searching and putting life into order need to happen immediately before a crucial marriage, à la Mere Brother Ki Dulhan? Only this time, we have a runaway bridegroom, instead of the bride walking away from the mandap as is the Bollywood wont. But Parineeti is the real star cast here – bright, gorgeous, self-willed and passionate – and wins hearts in spite of her over-the-top acting. Sidharth, too, is out on a self-quest and looks laudable. But it’s the cliché plot that mars the good efforts. There are nice elements, but they come in bits and pieces, and finally, Hasee Toh Phasee remains a commercial candyfloss. 
 
One just wonders what would have happened if Parineeti and Sidharth went through the same experiences post the marriage between Adah and Sidharth. But that might have been too much off the track for Bollywood and the Indian audience who did not receive the offbeat theme of Nishabd well. Let us see if Hasee Toh Phasee can join the 100 crore club. 
 
 
 
<keyword id="805778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Heartless">Heartless</keyword>: Commendable efforts lose steam, again Medical thrillers are pretty rare in Bollywood and we pinned our hopes on <keyword id="17186" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shekhar-Suman">Shekhar Suman</keyword>’s directorial debut Heartless, starring his son <keyword id="20393" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan">Adhyayan</keyword>, along with <keyword id="20398" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="deepti-naval">Deepti Naval</keyword>, <keyword id="6381489" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Om-puri">Om Puri</keyword> and newcomer <keyword id="1935232" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ariana-Ayam">Ariana Ayam</keyword> (she hails from New York). The movie also released on February 7 and hit about 800 screens all over the country. But unlike Hasee Toh Phasee, this one had a poor start in spite of a great storyline – essentially borrowed from the American crime/supernatural/conspiracy thriller <keyword id="106100" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Awake">Awake</keyword>. Surprisingly, the box office numbers are not officially available yet but according to one estimate, Heartless has grossed a little over Rs 1 crore in the opening weekend. That is, indeed, shocking. 
 A close look at the movie, however, confirms our fear that it could be a box office flop. Rich boy <keyword id="138003" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditya-Singh">Aditya Singh</keyword> (<keyword id="6354939" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan-Suman">Adhyayan Suman</keyword>), who needs a <keyword id="6397601" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="heart-transplant">heart transplant</keyword>, falls in love with fortune-hunter <keyword id="80068" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ria">Ria</keyword> (Ariana Ayam) and secretly marries her before the surgery. But once he is under the knife, all hell breaks loose. There is conspiracy going on to kill him with a <keyword id="2054863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Poisoned-transplant">poisoned transplant</keyword>, so that the wife can pocket the insurance money. Adhyayan’s friend and <keyword id="6382875" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="surgeon">surgeon</keyword> <keyword id="2054864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sameer-Saxena">Dr Sameer Saxena</keyword> (Shekhar Suman) is also in cahoots. 
 During the surgery, the truth dawns upon the hero as he goes into <keyword id="2054865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anaesthesia-awareness">anaesthesia awareness</keyword>, a medical condition where the patient is conscious enough to understand everything, but cannot move. Finally, his mother <keyword id="489622" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gayatri-Singh">Gayatri Singh</keyword> (Deepti Naval) commits suicide to make the transplant happen; Om Puri, as <keyword id="2054866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sanjay-Trehan">Dr Sanjay Trehan</keyword>, manages to save him and all the baddies are arrested at the end. There’s nothing wrong with the story except for the fact that medical thrill becomes hilarious comedy during the second half and Adhyayan still looks pretty stiff although the mother-son relation has been played out well. Maybe the BO numbers will pick up as soon as the audience gets used to the comical activities that take place in the OT. But can it still be touted as Adhyayan’s comeback movie? 
 
<keyword id="1977299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Babloo-Happy-Hai">Babloo Happy Hai</keyword>, <keyword id="828628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ya-Rab">Ya Rab</keyword> fail to make the cut The other two releases of the week also failed to make the cut at the box office in spite of some serious themes. Directed by <keyword id="475774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nila-Madhab-Panda">Nila Madhab Panda</keyword> (of Jalpari and I am Kalam fame), Babloo Happy Hai has a meaningful message about <keyword id="19472" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="aids">AIDS</keyword> and how people can still live a full life. But the movie has a <keyword id="110559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Limited-release">limited release</keyword> and hit only about 350-plus screens. It has grossed a little over Rs 15 lakh on the opening day, according to TalkingMoviez.com. 
 
Hasnain Hyderabadwala-directed Ya Rab depicts the eternal conflict between <keyword id="70629" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Humanity">humanity</keyword> and <keyword id="2054867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parochial-attitude">parochial attitude</keyword>, and how <keyword id="1013184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="religious-fundamentalism">religious fundamentalism</keyword> can lead to <keyword id="6358165" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="terrorism">terrorism</keyword>. But once again, lack of promotion has failed to create buzz for this movie, co-produced by <keyword id="6370367" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahesh-Bhatt">Mahesh Bhatt</keyword>. Made on a budget of Rs 2.5 crore, the movie has been released in 300-plus theatres and the Friday collections stood in the range of Rs 20 lakh-plus. Overall, <keyword id="434916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-box-office">Bollywood box office</keyword> hasn’t witnessed too many ripples even now but movie-goers are having a gala time, sampling different genres. That’s definitely a big plus and we are waiting for more. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Hasee Toh
Phasee Wins Hearts; Heartless Fails To Retain The Thrill

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1058282" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Palantir">Palantir</keyword> has moved its headquarters away from Silicon Valley, to Denver, <keyword id="6359726" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="colorado">Colorado</keyword>. </li><li>The secretive data company, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-confidentially-files-for-initial-public-offering-2020-7">confidentially filed to go public in July</a>, has been planning the move for at least several months. CEO <keyword id="2898343" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="alex-karp">Alex Karp</keyword> told Axios in May that the company was "getting close" to deciding where to move its headquarters. </li><li>Karp and Palantir cofounder <keyword id="380555" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Peter-Thiel">Peter Thiel</keyword> have long taken issue with the culture in Silicon Valley. Karp has described it as a "monoculture" and Thiel has said the <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword> world has "an extreme strain of parochialism."</li></ul>Secretive data company Palantir has officially moved its headquarters to Denver after its CEO described Silicon Valley as a "monoculture." The company has made the change official on its website, listing Denver as its headquarters rather than Palo Alto, California, which was previously the hub of its business. The <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/08/19/palantir-peter-thiel-alex-karp-headquarters-denver.html">Denver Business Journal</a> was the first to report the relocation. A spokesperson for Palantir did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Palantir's move out of Silicon Valley has been in the works for a while. In <a href="https://www.axios.com/palantir-alex-karp-headquarters-california-1dd44454-89c5-4773-a01d-c0f183654c08.html">an interview with Axios</a> in May, Karp said that the company was "getting close" to deciding where to move Palantir's headquarters. "We haven't picked a place yet, but it's going to be closer to the East Coast than the West Coast," Karp said. "If I had to guess, I would guess something like Colorado."Karp, who has been living in New Hampshire during the coronavirus outbreak, told Axios he liked "living free" there and described what he sees as an "increasing intolerance and monoculture" in the tech industry. Palantir was founded in 2003 in Silicon Valley, but CEO Alex Karp and the company's cofounder and chairman, investor Peter Thiel, have long criticized Silicon Valley. "The Silicon Valley attitude sometimes called 'cosmopolitanism' is probably better understood as an extreme strain of parochialism, that of fortunate enclaves isolated from the problems of other places — and incurious about them," Thiel wrote in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-slams-silicon-valley-parochialism-2019-8">a New York Times op-ed last year</a>. Palantir's decision to center its business outside the Bay Area comes as the company is also on track to go public in September. Rumors about a Palantir IPO have swirled since 2019, but on July 6, Palantir announced it had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-confidentially-files-for-initial-public-offering-2020-7">filed a draft of its IPO paperwork</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's IPO could be one of the biggest of the year.

Secretive data company Palantir has moved its headquarters to Denver from Palo Alto after its CEO called Silicon Valley a 'monoculture'

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Stephanie Keith/Getty ImagesPaypal cofounder Peter Thiel.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Peter Thiel published a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/peter-thiel-google.html">New York Times op-ed</a> on Thursday attacking Google for doing AI research in China while simultaneously refusing to do business with the US military.</li><li>Last month, Thiel said Google was "seemingly treasonous" and called for the FBI and the CIA to investigate its workings in China.</li><li>Thiel argues that any company working on AI in China can have that work seized by the Chinese government and used for military purposes.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Billionaire Silicon Valley investor and Paypal cofounder Peter Thiel doubled down on his attack on Google conducting AI research in China on Thursday.Thiel first started banging the drum against Google in a speech at the National Conservatism conference last month, when he described the company as "seemingly treasonous." He later went on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrfJUS7iOYE">Fox News</a> to reiterate the remarks, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-look-into-peter-thiel-google-treason-claim-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">President Donald Trump swiftly tweeted saying he would look into Thiel's allegations</a>.Now Thiel has written <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/peter-thiel-google.html">an op-ed in The New York Times</a> renewing his attack on the company, specifically the way it develops AI. Thiel takes issue with Google setting up an AI lab in Beijing in 2017, while also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/technology/google-pentagon-project-maven.htmltagon-project-maven.html">spiking its AI military contract "Project Maven" with the Pentagon in June of last year</a> after an intense employee backlash."Perhaps the most charitable word for these twin decisions would be to call them naïve," writes Thiel."How can Google use the rhetoric of 'borderless' benefits to justify working with the country whose 'Great Firewall' has imposed a border on the internet itself? This way of thinking works only inside Google's cosseted Northern California campus, quite distinct from the world outside."He added that this is symptomatic of attitudes in Silicon Valley, which he said is marked by an "extreme strain of parochialism" that means it is "incurious" about "problems of other places."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-joe-lonsdale-accused-google-unpatriotic-deflection-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">The cofounder of Palantir just called Google 'an unpatriotic company.' Here's why this alarming new level of rhetoric within tech is really just a deflection</a>Thiel offers no specific evidence to indicate Google is developing AI for military use, rather he says that any company which operates in China is liable to have its products used by the Chinese military."No intensive investigation is required to confirm this," he writes - despite having previously called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-cia-probe-google-china-links-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">on the FBI and CIA to investigate the company in a "not excessively gentle manner"</a> last month.He also makes mention of DeepMind, the London-based AI startup Google acquired in 2014, and in which Thiel was an early investor. Thiel said that founder Demis Hassabis described the company as a "Manhattan Project" for AI, and that Thiel should have interpreted this as a "literal warning sign."Google and DeepMind were not immediately available for comment on Thiel's remarks. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-joe-lonsdale-accused-google-unpatriotic-deflection-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Google has previously said</a> it does not work with the Chinese military and has a number of projects ongoing with the US Department of Defense.Thiel is a board member at Facebook, a company that competes directly with Google for ad dollars. He is also the cofounder of big data analytics company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-ice-explainer-data-startup-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Palantir, whose work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)</a> in targeting illegal immigrants for deportation has been sharply criticised. Palantir has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/palantir-wins-competition-to-build-army-intelligence-system/2019/03/26/c6d62bf0-3927-11e9-aaae-69364b2ed137_story.html?utm_term=.c2af92b08e32">also partnered with the US military</a>.<h2><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/peter-thiel-google.html">You can read Peter Thiel's full New York Times op-ed here.</a></h2>Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-alexa-dominating-smart-home-2018-10">All the ways Amazon is taking over your house</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Peter Thiel just cranked up his attack on Google's 'naive' relationship with China in a blistering New York Times op-ed

Labour member of parliament Jo Cox, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/breaking-news-jo-cox-has-been-shot-and-stabbed-2016-6">who died after being shot and stabbed on a Yorkshire street on Thursday</a>, made her <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2015-06-03b.674.0">maiden speech in the House of Commons in June last year</a>.Cox, who was the Labour member of parliament for Batley and Spen in the north of England, was born and raised locally.In her maiden speech she spoke of her pride in being "made in Yorkshire."She also discussed how her constituency was "deeply enhanced by immigration," the need for a shift in attitude towards regional economic generation, and whether the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> government's actions would match its "northern powerhouse" rhetoric.Here is the transcript below in full, as per the <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2015-06-03b.674.0">They Work For You website</a>:Thank you, Mr Speaker; it is a great privilege to be called to make my maiden speech in this most important of debates, and I congratulate many others who have made outstanding maiden speeches today.I am sure that many right hon. and hon. Members will claim that their constituencies consist of two halves or numerous parochial parts; I am another in that respect, and Batley and Spen is very much that kind of constituency. It is a joy to represent such a diverse community.Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages. Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.My constituency is also home to Fox's Biscuits and Lion Confectionery, so I am sure you will not think it an indulgence, Mr Speaker, if I describe Batley and Spen as a constituency with an industrial heart wrapped in a very rich and pleasant Yorkshire landscape-geographical, historical and cultural.The spirit of non-conformity is as prevalent now in my part of west Yorkshire as it was in the time of my two immediate predecessors, Mike Wood and Elizabeth Peacock. They were both known for offering their own brand of independent, non-conformist service, albeit in very different ways. I intend to maintain that established tradition in my own unique style.Of course, Batley is a town that has sent Labour MPs to this place for the best part of a hundred years. One of them, Dr Broughton, is of course famously credited with bringing down a Government, so I respectfully put the right hon. Members on the Front Bench opposite on notice. The Spen valley has a far more chequered political history, alternately sending Labour and Conservative MPs here to Westminster for much of the 20th century. Nothing made me prouder on 8 May than to be sent to this place with an increased Labour majority, proving again that in my neck of the woods non-conformity is what we do best.As I have already alluded to, we make things in Batley and Spen; we do so now, just as we did historically. Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision engineering. We manufacture all sorts, from beds to biscuits, and from carpets to lathes. We also have some of the best fish and chips in the country, and some of the best curries in the world.However, what many of our businesses are lacking is confidence: confidence to expand; confidence to borrow; confidence to grow; and the confidence to fuel a real economic recovery that benefits everybody, offering decent jobs, paying decent wages and bridging the skills gap. Key to changing that situation is a fundamental shift in attitude towards regional economic regeneration. It is time to give city and county regions the powers and resources they need to promote growth, and I will happily work with all of those who are genuinely committed to building an economic powerhouse in the north. This agenda has to have at its centre a commitment to connect towns and villages in constituencies like mine to thriving city hubs, and to deliver a financial offer in the forthcoming July Budget that gives this worthy goal a real chance of success. Yorkshire folk are not fools: talk about devolving power to cities and regions, while simultaneously stripping them of the resources to deliver and subjecting northern councils such as Kirklees to the harshest of cuts, is not compatible with a worthy commitment to building a northern powerhouse to drive growth and prosperity.Businesses in my constituency want help to address the skills mismatch at local level which leaves employers with staff shortages and young people without jobs. They want access to reliable sources of finance, including a network of local banks. They want to connect to a regional infrastructure that works for them, not rail price hikes of more than 126% and endless delays to key transport projects such as the electrification of the line from Manchester to Leeds. Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability of Britain's continued membership of the European Union, a cause I look forward to championing passionately in this place and elsewhere.The key question is: will the Government's actions match their northern powerhouse rhetoric? HS2 is not the only acid test. There are two bigger challenges. First, will the Government really devolve all the powers and decisions that could and should be taken locally and regionally? My test will be this: if there is a compelling reason for this to be a national decision then so be it; if not, it should be devolved. Secondly, will the Government really take the whole range of their decisions-on transport, research and development, planning, education and skills-in the interests of rebalancing the economy and growing the north?I am Batley and Spen born and bred, and I could not be prouder of that. I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud of the things we make in Yorkshire. Britain should be proud of that, too. I look forward to representing the great people of Batley and Spen here over the next five years. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-wwe-vince-mcmahon-2016-6">Donald Trump's history with WWE explains a lot about his persona</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Fkc2QzMTE6Y-AsNDkseGQbTp57hESZU9" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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