Liverpool and Manchester should work together to build economic growth

Liverpool and Manchester should look to build economic growth through micro-entrepreneurial activity, according to Andrew McLaughlin as reported in the Liverpool Echo.

At an economic briefing hosted in both cities by law firm Brabners, in conjunction with NatWest, McLaughlin was giving his views on how a mature economy can grow.

The UK is building wealth but it is not being evenly distributed and a more prominent economic trend to the North-South divide is city versus non-city, said McLaughlin, head of communications and chief economist for The Royal Bank of Scotland.

He believes cities like Liverpool and Manchester should build up a competitive advantage by encouraging much more micro-entrepreneurial activity and therefore increase productivity.

He went on to say that there should be less anxiety about the UK’s ability to raise living standards as GDP data shows the trend in wealth is upwards, but he warned that average wealth is lagging behind total income which is a big issue for the country.

With regards to interest rate changes, he spoke about the Bank of England retreating from quantitative easing and signalling the prospect of rate rises.

He advised that, although we are unlikely to see changes in rates until after the election next year, the Monetary Policy Committee’s views were finely balanced and to pay close attention to their voting record and intentions for a clearer indication of when rates will rise.

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