News Categories: Regional Policy

The report argues that the Industrial Strategy needed by the UK: is about the supply side, with a special focus on labour as the element most impacted by Brexit; should concern itself with the whole of industry; should adopt rising labour productivity, industry by industry, as its goal, supported by greater equality of outcome in […]

Part of the Soundings Futures series, the first part of this article is an assessment of the scale of regional inequalities in Britain and the failures of the orthodox policy initiatives that have been advanced to address them. The main weaknesses of successive policy shifts have been that: overall expenditure has simply been inadequate to […]

With Brussels and London having radically different attitudes to regional policy, Professor Kevin Morgan looks at what lies ahead for UK regional policy post Brexit. In a two-part blog, he argues that when the reign of EU regional policy ends in 2020, there is a real opportunity to build on the best features of European […]

This Centre for Cities briefing argues that: Different parts of the economy – city centres, suburbs, hinterlands and rural areas – offer different things to business. And this influences the type of businesses they attract and grow. Cities inherently offer businesses a greater number of benefits because of a process known as agglomeration. But some […]

The Centre for Cities set out 10 ideas on how the Government can develop an industrial strategy which recognises the significance of place as the organising framework for the UK economy, and which builds on the diverse roles that different places play within it.  

This report makes the case for a locally-led industrial strategy. It argues that to turn a national industrial strategy into local economic renewal, places and their leaders should be provided the space and powers by government to lead from the front. In short places should take control of their local industrial strategy, with greater influence over the […]

HM Government argues that: “The Midlands Engine Strategy is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to making the Midlands a powerful engine for economic growth. Stretching from Shropshire to Lincolnshire, with the M1, M6, and most of our major railway lines running through it, the Midlands sits at the very heart of the UK economy. Building […]

The UK referendum on EU membership resulted in a vote to leave the bloc. The UK and EU are currently in limbo whilst the withdrawing Member State prepares to trigger Article 50 and formally notify its intent to depart. The financial, legal and economic implications are expected to be wide-ranging although the process of unpicking […]

Since the EU referendum, the post-Brexit future for agricultural, regional and rural policies in the UK have been hotly debated. Few of these debates have taken account of the role of the devolved governments in relation to these policies. Although agriculture, regional and rural policy have been heavily influenced by the EU for decades, the […]

Andrew Carter (Centre for Cities) discusses the UK Government’s new Industrial Strategy and what it could mean for UK cities, with former Business Secretary Rt Hon Vince Cable, Nesta’s Director of Innovation Policy and Futures Louise Marston, and Gavin Kelly from the Resolution Trust.

Two weeks ago the UK government unveiled its proposals for a new industrial strategy, one which promises ‘to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country.’ As the dust settles on the announcement, press reaction to the 132-page Green Paper has been lukewarm. The Financial Times reports […]

The Industrial Communities Alliance’s priorities for the UK Industrial Strategy Industrial Communities Alliance_industrial_strategy

Chapter forthcoming in: David Bailey and Leslie Budd (eds.), The Political Economy of Brexit. Agenda Publishing. Bailey De Propris What does Brexit mean for UK automotive and industrial policy

“We want to build an industrial strategy that addresses long-term challenges to the UK economy. Our aim is to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country. This green paper sets out our approach and some early actions we have committed to take. It is not intended […]

Virtually as she stepped into Number 10, Prime Minister Theresa May indicated a new attitude of the UK’s Conservative government towards manufacturing and industrial policy. It was a welcome shift from a party who have consistently undermined British manufacturing communities like my own in the last 40 years. Now there is an opportunity to put […]

Few doubt that Brexit poses some immense challenges for the British economy. But for a government that professes to want an economy that ‘works for everyone’ there is possibly one encouraging factor: Brexit seems likely to help re-balance the economy. This note asks what Brexit implies for different parts of the UK and suggests two […]

Post Brexit, the ensuing lack of EU agricultural subsidies will have a detrimental effect on the less developed regions of the UK, potentially more so than the end to EU regional development funds that have been benefiting already fairly well-functioning constituencies. In this piece Riccardo Crescenzi and Mara Giua explain the (un)intended consequences of Brexit in this regard

In the heated debate on the economic impact of a possible UK withdrawal from the EU, relatively little attention has been given to the implications for the individual nations and regions of the UK. Yet, as a new paper by John Bachtler and Iain Begg reports, the impact of a Brexit is likely to be […]

Greg Clark, Business and Energy Secretary speaking at the 2016 Conservative Party Conference at The ICC, Birmingham.

Those in the Westminster commentariat who continue to cast doubt on the Prime Minister’s commitment to the idea of a Northern Powerhouse need to look a little more carefully at the evidence before indulging us with their wishful thinking. Both at Prime Minister’s Questions and in her Yorkshire Post letter Theresa May has explicitly affirmed […]

Policy hasn’t ignored the struggles of those cities that were more likely to vote to leave the EU, far from it. It simply hasn’t had the desired impact.

Five ways the Government’s commitment to a new industrial strategy can make the most of devolution.  

For Labour, the risk is nothing short of extinction, warns Ed Cox.