A crowd of demonstrators hold placards at the Lack of Growth: 2022 Cost of Living Crisis protest (Image: Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
The average person is now more than £10,000 poorer since the Conservatives “levelled” and came to power, according to new research. city center According to the analysis, the majority of the country’s major towns and cities have experienced a lack of growth over the past decade.
The economy has been in a slump since 2010, when David Cameron took over as prime minister and began a 14-year Conservative government. Nationally, residents are on average £10,200 worse off than they would have been had the economy grown after pre-2010 trends, but in some regions the figure is much higher. .
2024 is a general election year and growth and improving standards are likely to be key issues, but Urban Center said combating stagnation will be a key challenge for the next prime minister. The report shows that nearly every place in the North and South, from former industrial cities to innovation powerhouses, has lost out.
Increase in cost of living
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Andrew Carter, CEO of the Center for Cities, said: “Everywhere up and down the country, even places that used to do relatively well, are underperforming because of a lack of growth. Everywhere. To achieve growth in places, the next government will need to act at a fundamentally different pace and scale, marking the beginning of a multi-decade policy program.
“The first step in any realistic approach to growing the economy is to recognize that the UK economy is an urban economy. Achieving higher levels of growth without increasing the innovation and dynamism of UK cities There’s no plausible way to do that.”
“This will follow the leveling up rhetoric with bold action, reforming the planning system to enable urban growth, devolving more powers and financial freedom to big cities to make decisions that support growth. Comparing the largest towns and cities, the study found that Aberdeen was the hardest hit.
Due to low growth, the average person in the city has lost £45,240 over the past 14 years. In England, residents of Burnley are the most money poor, with the average local resident having worsened by a cumulative £28,090 since 2010. Seven areas were better off in almost all cases: Aldershot, Bristol, Derby, Northampton, Slough, Telford and York. Overwhelming growth from 1998 to 2010.
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The Center for Cities said the shortfall was a result of the UK having seen an employment boom since 2010 but failing to achieve simultaneous productivity gains. By 2022, there will be 4.6 million more jobs than in 2010, far more than the 2.5 million created between 1998 and 2010. From 2010 to 2021, productivity increased by an average of 0.6% per year in real terms, which is slower than the average annual growth rate of 1.5%. % from 1998 to 2010.
Housing affordability remained an issue in 2010, and it continues to worsen, affecting disposable income and compounding trends influencing the level and nature of poverty. The proportion of children living in relative poverty has sharply increased in nearly all cities since 2014, with in-work poverty increasing in particular.
In 2021, there were six cities (all in the North and Midlands) where more than a third of children were from households in relative poverty. Until 2014, there was no such city. In Birmingham, the number of children in relative poverty increased by 60,000 over this period.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to leveling up every corner of the UK, investing billions of dollars to support local regeneration projects and connecting 25.7 million properties to gigabit broadband. “More than 50% of England is currently covered by devolution arrangements.”
“We have halved the number of people on low wages by increasing the National Living Wage, and we have also saved the average earner more than £1,000 a year since 2010 thanks to an above-inflation rise in tax credits. We achieved it two years later. “The massive global shocks – coronavirus and Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine – have affected every economy around the world. , grew faster than Italy, France, Spain and Japan.”
What do you think about the government’s response? What more can be done to address the lack of growth? You can join the conversation by leaving a comment below.