The Centre for Cities’ 2015 Cities Outlook report shows the gap between Britain’s best- and worst-performing cities has dramatically widened since 2004 – creating a two-tier economy of dynamism and decline.
It finds that for every 12 net new jobs created between 2004 and 2013 in cities in the South of England, only one was created in cities throughout the rest of Great Britain.
Given the scale of the challenge facing the next Government, the report calls on all parties to ensure their visions for growing cities are based on significant devolution of both fiscal and structural power, providing incentives for cities to support economic growth, and giving greater flexibility to ensure money can be spent where it is most needed.
Cities Outlook is the annual health-check of the economic performance of the United Kingdom’s 64 largest cities. This year’s report maps the fortunes of cities over a decade of economic boom and bust, during which three major parties have held power.
It reveals that national growth between 2004 and 2013 was largely driven by only a handful of cities – mainly located in the South – which have seen their populations boom, their number of businesses grow, and thousands of new jobs created. At the same time in other cities, migration of young and skilled workers, a lack of business growth, and falling employment opportunities have led their economies to contract.
Key findings between 2004 and 2013:
- London’s number of jobs increased by 17.1 percent, while falls of over 10 percent were seen in Blackpool, Rochdale and Gloucester
- Milton Keynes’ population grew by 16.5 per cent, while in Sunderland it contracted by 1.4 per cent.
- Swindon’s number of net additional businesses climbed 29 percent, while Grimsby lost 5.5 percent of its business base.
Even the best-performing cities in the South are now facing threats to their further progress – primarily, the unprecedented growth in housing prices, which their leaders cannot address in a targeted or decisive way.Yet despite being the most centralised nation in the advanced world, Cities Outlook 2015 shows how successive Governments’ efforts to respond to this changing landscape have failed to rebalance the national economy, with policy interventions and funding consistently too small, ad hoc, complicated and costly for cities to implement.The global financial crisis, the move to knowledge-intensive businesses, and the increasing integration of technologies in workplaces, have left some cities with a weaker business base from which to create jobs and drive growth, and have seen others – such as London, Brighton and Cambridge – reach new heights of prosperity.
Andrew Carter, Acting Chief Executive, Centre for Cities, said: “Five months out from the Election, this report makes the strongest economic case yet for the next Government to step up to the challenge of investing in the long-term success of our cities, and build a brighter future in which more people and places can contribute to, and share in, prosperity and growth.”
“The stark picture the report paints of the enormous gap in the fortunes of UK cities over 10 years underlines why a ‘steady as she goes’ approach must be scrapped. We must move from thinking that bundling up new funding streams with bureaucratic delays, or simply tinkering around the edges with well-intentioned announcements, will be enough to reverse trends that are becoming increasingly entrenched.”
“Cities need long-term funding and strategic planning, and policies that go to the heart of addressing the key drivers of economic growth – including transport, planning, skills and housing. This report throws down the gauntlet for all parties to turn their recent interest and pledges around cities and devolution into a clear plan to grow jobs and businesses, and improve quality of life throughout the United Kingdom.”
