Transcript Document

GROWTH BEYOND THE BIG CITIES
Background and purpose of the day
Steve Fothergill
Alliance National Director
“Cities drive economic growth”
“Cities drive economic growth”
Lord Andrew Adonis
Author of Labour’s review of local economic growth
Some practical manifestations…….
●
Establishment of ‘city regions’
●
Skewing of Local Growth Fund allocations to the English big cities
●
Giving big cities preferential treatment in the devolution of powers
and responsibilities
●
Investment in high-speed rail connections between the big cities
●
George Osborne’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’
What about the rest of us?
In Northern England for example:
●
Only 20% of the population lives in the five ‘core cities’
(Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle)
●
Only 40% in total lives in the core cities’ wider urban area
What’s to become of the places beyond the cities?
●
Dormitories for commuters?
●
Beneficiaries of ‘trickle-down’ or overspill?
●
Are big cities really ‘predators’, and their neighbouring areas
‘victims’?
●
And what about the places way beyond the cities?
Is it really true that cities are the motors of growth?
●
Pre-1990s, the big cities were the major centres of economic
decline
●
Are we being misled by London’s success?
●
Empirical evidence on growth of cities is actually very mixed
Some very recent figures
Growth in total employment, England, 2009-2013
London
525,500
Metropolitan counties
185,800
Non-metropolitan areas
543,600
Source: LGA based on ONS
Can growth be promoted away from the big cities?
●
What are the distinctive assets of smaller places?
●
What is the role of regional economic policy?
●
Local v. central government responsibility?
The Alliance does already have a clear view here………
………see the Ten Point Plan
Beware the pitfalls!
●
Not against growth in cites
●
England, Scotland and Wales!
●
Devolution of power is not the same as promotion of economic
growth
●
We’re not talking Whose Recovery? today
Programme