All in it together? New figures show unequal growth across north/south divide

Green Politics

Seven of the 10 fastest growing Local Enterprise Partnerships were in the south

Figures released today have once again highlighted the uneven pace of the recovery across the UK.

Despite David Cameron’s ‘all in it together’ mantra, the south appears to be moving on from the financial crisis far more rapidly than the north, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Data showing the growth rate for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England reveals that between 2008 and 2013, GVA per head (essentially average living standards), increased by 3.3 per cent in Oxford but just 0.3 per cent in Cheshire and Warrington. London and Dorset saw growth of 1.9 per cent, while Lancashire, Leeds and Humber all grew by only 0.8 per cent.

Seven out of the 10 fastest growing LEPs were in the south, and seven of the bottom ten were in the north. Discrepancies in the bottom 10 tend to be in rural areas, for example Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had a low growth rate of 0.9 per cent.

North South

The disproportionate impact of recession on the north and rural areas has been well documented. Data from the European Union has shown that west Wales, Cornwall, Durham and Tees Valley, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire are the poorest regions not only in the UK but in the whole of Northern Europe. Meanwhile Inner London was ranked as the richest region in Northern Europe.

Ruby Stockham is a Left Foot Forward staff writer. Follow her on Twitter

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2 Responses to “All in it together? New figures show unequal growth across north/south divide”

  1. Ed Cox

    Not sure it’s quite that simple. Greater Manchester and Birmingham growing fastest in past 12 months.

    Nominal Gross Value Added by Local Enterprise Partnership, 1997-2013*
    £ million GVA CHANGE 2012-2013
    LEP REGION 2012 2013 £ %
    Greater Manchester 53,788 56,265 2,477 5%
    Black Country 18,710 19,543 834 4%
    Greater Birmingham and Solihull 39,621 41,327 1,706 4%
    South East Midlands 42,109 43,798 1,689 4%
    London 325,613 338,475 12,862 4%
    Hertfordshire 29,267 30,416 1,149 4%
    Coventry and Warwickshire 18,990 19,716 726 4%
    Coast to Capital 43,362 44,972 1,610 4%
    North Eastern 32,747 33,933 1,186 4%
    Heart of the South West 29,487 30,539 1,052 4%
    Oxfordshire 18,511 19,161 651 4%
    Cheshire and Warrington 22,381 23,154 774 3%
    West of England 28,331 29,309 978 3%
    Northamptonshire 14,327 14,821 494 3%
    Lancashire 24,722 25,523 801 3%
    Solent 35,240 36,353 1,113 3%
    Dorset 14,922 15,385 463 3%
    Gloucestershire 13,670 14,093 424 3%
    New Anglia 30,775 31,721 946 3%
    Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 8,124 8,373 248 3%
    York, North Yorkshire and East Riding 21,055 21,686 631 3%
    Leicester and Leicestershire 19,521 20,102 581 3%
    Leeds City Region 58,795 60,524 1,728 3%
    Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire 18,195 18,727 532 3%
    Sheffield City Region 29,742 30,604 862 3%
    Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire 40,180 41,259 1,080 3%
    South East 73,486 75,404 1,918 3%
    Liverpool City Region 26,315 27,002 686 3%
    Cumbria 9,431 9,674 243 3%
    Buckinghamshire Thames Valley 13,732 14,083 351 3%
    Greater Lincolnshire 17,907 18,356 449 3%
    Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough 32,675 33,455 779 2%
    Swindon and Wiltshire 15,733 16,106 373 2%
    Thames Valley Berkshire 33,406 34,187 781 2%
    Humber 15,982 16,350 368 2%
    Enterprise M3 46,879 47,813 935 2%
    Tees Valley 11,221 11,409 188 2%
    Worcestershire 10,390 10,559 169 2%
    The Marches 12,080 12,131 51 0%

    Source: IPPR analysis of ONS 2015, Regional Economic Analysis, GVA for Local Enterprise Partnerships, 1997-2013
    http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-393471
    *GVA is similar to GDP but is measured at the local level.

  2. Leon Wolfeson

    London also has some of the poorest regions in the UK, so…

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