By Lucy Phillips
18 January 2010
The recession has widened the gap between the best and worst performing economies of the UK’s cities, according to a think-tank report published today.
Centre for Cities found that cities that were suffering most before the recession, such as Barnsley and Stoke, had been worst hit by the economic crisis. By contract, cities that were thriving before the downturn, such as Brighton and Cambridge, were likely to grow stronger as the UK came out of recession, according to the study.
Over the past two years the difference between Cambridge and Hull – the cities with residents claiming the lowest and highest shares of Jobseeker’s Allowance respectively – has nearly doubled.
Dermot Finch, chief executive of Centre for Cities, warned that the UK economy faced ‘an uneven recovery’ and called for all political parties to address the problem. ‘Party leaders need to wake up to the reality that some cities will still feel in the middle of a recession until well after the election. The next government needs to help these struggling cities fix the basics – like improving schools and public transport so they can attract new business and jobs,’ he said.
Burnley, Newport and Doncaster also face a tough outlook after the recession as a result of heavy job losses, a low rate of business start-ups and high levels of residents with no qualifications, according to the think-tank. Milton Keynes, Reading and Edinburgh, on the other hand, look set to prosper thanks to strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship and well educated workforces.
Margaret Eaton, chair of the Local Government Association, added that a ‘one-size-fits-all solution’ would not help all cities out of the downturn. ‘The fastest way to move from recession to recovery is more decisions about the economy to be made at a local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses,’ she said.
Official figures, to be published later this month, are expected to show the UK came out of recession between October and December last year, although economists today warned recovery would be slow.
18 January 2010
The recession has widened the gap between the best and worst performing economies of the UK’s cities, according to a think-tank report published today.
Centre for Cities found that cities that were suffering most before the recession, such as Barnsley and Stoke, had been worst hit by the economic crisis. By contract, cities that were thriving before the downturn, such as Brighton and Cambridge, were likely to grow stronger as the UK came out of recession, according to the study.
Over the past two years the difference between Cambridge and Hull – the cities with residents claiming the lowest and highest shares of Jobseeker’s Allowance respectively – has nearly doubled.
Dermot Finch, chief executive of Centre for Cities, warned that the UK economy faced ‘an uneven recovery’ and called for all political parties to address the problem. ‘Party leaders need to wake up to the reality that some cities will still feel in the middle of a recession until well after the election. The next government needs to help these struggling cities fix the basics – like improving schools and public transport so they can attract new business and jobs,’ he said.
Burnley, Newport and Doncaster also face a tough outlook after the recession as a result of heavy job losses, a low rate of business start-ups and high levels of residents with no qualifications, according to the think-tank. Milton Keynes, Reading and Edinburgh, on the other hand, look set to prosper thanks to strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship and well educated workforces.
Margaret Eaton, chair of the Local Government Association, added that a ‘one-size-fits-all solution’ would not help all cities out of the downturn. ‘The fastest way to move from recession to recovery is more decisions about the economy to be made at a local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses,’ she said.
Official figures, to be published later this month, are expected to show the UK came out of recession between October and December last year, although economists today warned recovery would be slow.
