Member Article

North East will 'weather the recession'

The renaissance of northern cities has positioned them relatively well to weather the economic storm, while London could be set to bear the brunt of the recession, according to a new report published today.

The Local Government Association report, called ‘From Recession to recovery: the local dimension’, projects how each area of the country could be affected differently by the recent economic changes if no action is taken - and the North East is apparently very well placed to endure the downturn.

The report said that the North East has a relatively high proportion of industries that are likely to perform the best, and that the region fared averagely in the last two recessions and also performed better than any other region in the past two years.

The LGA believes that the recent growth of big northern cities has placed them relatively well to cope with the effects of the recession. Almost two in five of jobs that could be at risk over the next two years are in London and the South East.

Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the LGA, said: “The recession is going to hit different parts of the country in very different ways and even within individual regions there are marked differences as to how local areas could fare. It is clear that a national, one size fits all approach to dealing with the recession simply isn’t going to work.

“The research shows that the fastest way to get out of recession is for more decisions about the economy to be taken at the local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses.

“The tough times ahead will hit people throughout Britain. The response must be swift and effective if it is to protect people from the worst effects of an economic slowdown and make progress towards recovery.”

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