A new report out today recommends increasing the spending and autonomy of the ‘Established Mayoral Authorities’ to deliver growth as quickly as possible and changing national government spending patterns and the Green Book to rebalance public growth spending outside the Greater South East.
Meanwhile it says that to increase and spread economic growth the above should be coupled with a new focus on growth corridors around major national investments such as the ‘Transpennine Growth Corridor
It says that the Transpennine Route Upgrade will cost over £10bn, but previous governments failed to develop a growth plan for it.
A ‘Transpennine Growth Corridor’ chaired by a government minister and bringing together the relevant strategic authority mayors could marshall investment along the route in transport, housing and businesses into something greater than the sum of its parts. This principle should be extended to all major national projects – extending the benefits of growth to larger numbers and reaping the benefits of agglomeration in towns and cities
The analysis by Labour Together looks at how the UK can rebalance its economy away from London and the South East.
There are Gleaming towers rise around redeveloped London stations, while derelict land sits idle beside Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds says the report.
Nothing encapsulates previous failure more than the national government’s attitude to Leeds, a dynamic city with huge potential. The Leeds Supertram was cancelled by New Labour in 2005 citing rising costs. The city orientated itself to the new opportunities afforded to it by High Speed 2 – preparing development sites around the south of the city. A plan cancelled by the Conservatives in 2021. The city remains the largest city in Europe without its own mass transit system – a situation that has now undermined its potential despite repeated planning for decades.
Life expectancy for a boy born in Hart in Hampshire is 83 years, for one born in Blackpool it is a decade shorter says the report.
The failure of ‘levelling up’ it says,provides a cautionary tale. The slogan featured heavily in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, contributing to Boris Johnson’s electoral success. It was appealing because it spoke to a reality that many in the country recognised, that opportunity was not spread equally.
