Following the UK launch of our third paper A Growth Policy to Close Britain’s Regional Divides: What Needs to be Done, we received positive coverage in The Guardian and were invited to write an opinion piece for The Times.
You can find Larry Elliot’s analysis in the Guardian here.
You can find Ed’s Times column here, and reproduced below.
Parties must work together to close UK regional divides
Why doesn’t the British economy grow anymore? That’s not just a question arising from the recent recession, it’s been the fundamental debate ever since the financial crisis, and – unlike the recession – it’s not going away any time soon.
In fact, the Office for Budget Responsibility says this sickly performance will continue throughout this decade, alongside weak public finances and vital services starved of cash. Without a return to stronger growth, any talk of reducing the tax burden remains a pipe dream too.
But the solution is staring us in the face. Compared to other countries, Britain’s feeble growth stands out because – outside London – our cities have performed particularly badly. Whereas if our non-London cities could catch up with the growth of their European counterparts, the UK would be £55bn richer and generating £13bn a year in extra tax revenue.
How do we achieve that? Our Harvard-Kings research asked that question to three former Prime Ministers, five former Chancellors and dozens of other leaders at local and central government level and conducted in-depth economic analysis on the issues they raised. Based on that research, we have today set out a ten-point plan for reform.
The starting point must be a UK plan for growth, led nationally led by the Prime and the Chancellor but actively shaped and delivered by local leaders. After the centralisation and disastrous policy instability of recent decades – which all these former political leaders now regret – we need an agreed plan we can stick to.
To work it must reverse years of under-investment in local transport, innovation and STEM skills outside the South-East which has restricted the size and stunted the growth of the non-London cities. Decisions on spending and planning should be made outside London by strong local leaders with the tools and mandate to do the job.
We need to extend Combined Authorities with elected Mayors to every part of the country in the next Parliament, with nowhere left out – accompanied by long-term budgets and greater financial freedoms. And we argue for Mayors and First Ministers to bring their voice to Westminster too via the House of Lords.
They say, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but when it comes to the mayoral model, the mantra needs to be: ‘if it’s working, extend it’.
These are big changes. But if the next government wants to kick-start growth and achieve all the other goals that depend on it, they can’t be ducked.
Above all, we need the two main parties to commit to a common agenda so we can make this new approach work not just over one Parliament but for the next twenty years.
Every previous political leader we spoke to wished they’d achieved that consensus. That was good to hear, but we’ve got to get beyond political leaders expressing regret after their time in office that they didn’t do more.
The first and most important test will be the commitments made by the main parties in their respective manifestos. It’s time to rise to the challenge.