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North 'not worth saving'?

bdaily is moving to London. We’ve decided to beat the rush predicted by the Policy Exchange think tank and head to the greener pastures of the South East, where the air is clean, the houses are cheap, and the commute is a doddle.

Maybe not…

Alternatively, we’ll trust our own eyes, ears, and instincts, and stay in the North East. The think tank’s radical (to put it mildly) report claimed that regeneration policies in the North are only going to make things worse, and that abandoning the top half of the country would solve the problem. Policy Exchange said a mass internal migration was the only solution to a decade of failed efforts to revive failing cities such as Sunderland and Bradford.

The report does highlight some successes, naming Newcastle, Liverpool, and Manchester among them. But while it gives with one hand it takes away with the other, saying that although these cities have seen an upturn in their fortunes over the last ten years, “they are not successful enough to deliver prosperity to neighbouring towns in the way that London is able to support relatively poor communities in North Kent and South Essex.” It particularly singles out Sunderland, saying that it will forever be in Newcastle’s shadow.

“Pointless” Northern cities

Conceding that their findings might be seen as “plain barmy”, the report authors said that coastal cities like Liverpool and Sunderland had “lost much of their raison d’etre” with the decline of shipping.

These places apparently had “little prospect of offering their residents the standard of living to which they aspire”, the report added.

“No one is suggesting that residents should be forced to move, but we do argue that they should be told the reality of the position: regeneration, in the sense of convergence, will not happen, because it is not possible,” it concluded.

Right to reply

The report’s author, Tim Leunig, a lecturer in economics at the London School of Economics, has been arguing his case on the Guardian’s website (perhaps not the best place to gain support for this particular policy proposal). It has to be said that, despite the report’s negative view of much of the North, it may well start a new and more informed discussion around the purpose, targets, and use of regeneration funding.

It’s also worth noting that Policy Exchange are an independent body, and that the Conservative Party has already distanced itself from the report’s recommendations. Make of that what you will…

If you want to let us know what you think, just go to bdaily.info/news/business/north-not-worth-saving and leave your comments.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .