REGIONAL GROWTH | IN FOCUS


judiciary – and the hub for finance, commerce and the arts – the capital exerts a gravitational pull on financial and human resources from the rest of the country. While a lot of the south of England gets a


great benefit from the economic power of the city, there are some parts of that region as separate from London as are towns in the north of England, Scotland and Wales. Figures for growth in gross value added, a similar measure to GDP, indicate London showed growth of 100 per cent between 1997 and 2010. Wales grew by 60 per cent. Some regions have much higher levels of public-sector employment than London and the


South, which means they have to work harder to create private-sector investment and employment to offset the impact of the austerity programme launched in 2010. Yet the majority of infrastructure investment is focused on projects such as Crossrail, Thames Tideway and the regeneration of Battersea while the major debate has been over the location of new London airport capacity.


NEW GEOGRAPHY


The North–South or London-versus-the-rest debates obscure the fact that there are many successful businesses and industries in every part of the UK and great potential for further


expansion. The emergence of the West Country as a financial centre for back office functions following the relocation of Eagle Star (Cheltenham), Allied Dunbar (Swindon) and Portman Building Society (Bournemouth) is a good example. Leeds too has benefited from financial services regeneration. Manchester, a birthplace of the industrial revolution, has reinvented itself after the 1996 IRA bombing to become a regional business centre and economic powerhouse. »


Opposite: Harold Macmillan warned of a North–South divide. Above: Gateshead’s Angel of the North has become a symbol of regional pride and regeneration


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