UK regional inequality ‘jeopardises future generations’: Report

Birmingham, United Kingdom – The United Kingdom is one of the most regionally unequal countries in the industrialised world, with the divisions between the rich southeast and poorer regions in the north, leaving it at risk of jeopardising the prospects of future generations.

That is according to the independent UK2070 Commission’s final report, published on Thursday.

The commission’s chair, Lord Kerslake, the former head of the UK civil service, said the government had to “go big or go home” in order to fix inequality and to “level-up” – in the words of the government itself – the areas of the country left behind.

The report calls for a 10-step plan to tackle inequality, including an extra 200 billion pounds ($258bn) in spending over the next 20 years, investment in public transport infrastructure between poorly connected towns, the creation of new research and development centres outside of southeast England, and the devolution of power away from the central government in Westminster.

“The scale of the challenge we face is such that we need a generational shift if we are to avoid a serious decline and division,” said Lord Kerslake in a statement.

“Many people in Britain feel left behind by growth elsewhere and that has contributed to an acrimonious debate about Europe. We now face a decade of potential disruption – leaving the European Union, confronting the impact of climate change and adjusting to the fourth industrial revolution.”

In human terms

The statistics back up the commission’s findings. The UK’s Office of National Statistics found that while average household wealth grew by nearly 80 percent in London between 2006 and 2018, and more than 30 percent in the southeast, it fell by 12 percent in the northeast and the East Midlands.

The stark divide can also be highlighted in human terms, with there being a 19-year life expectancy difference between the UK’s richest and poorest areas. 

However, the authors of the report were eager to emphasise that the debate should not be framed as one of competing regions, and that a reduction in regional inequality would benefit all areas of the UK.

“Regions outside London and the wider south east are not fulfilling their full economic potential, whilst London and the wider south east are increasingly experiencing intense pressures on housing, transport and the environment,” the report said.

The report represents a fresh challenge to this government to put its money where its mouth is and take the necessary steps to devolve power, support infrastructure and rebuild public services

by Sarah Longlands, IPPR North

The findings were welcomed by Sarah Longlands, the director of the IPPR North think-tank, and a contributor to the commission.

“[The UK2070 Commission] builds on the arguments that IPPR North and others have made over the last 10 years as to the divided and unequal nature of the UK’s economic settlement,” Longlands said.

“The report represents a fresh challenge to this government to put its money where its mouth is and take the necessary steps to devolve power, support infrastructure and rebuild public services, ahead of the Budget on the 11th March.”

The UK government’s upcoming budget is expected to include significant increases in public spending on infrastructure, targeted at the Midlands and the north of England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a big point of saying that he will focus on “levelling-up” areas of the UK that have been historically poorer, in a bid to retain support from voters in those areas that swung behind him in last December’s general election.

A UK government spokesperson said great strides were already being made towards regional equality.

“The levelling up agenda is about scaling up our ambition and moving the country’s centre of gravity and economic focus away from London, driving local growth and delivering opportunity across the UK,” they told Al Jazeera.

“We’ve already made great progress taking forward devolution and job creation with 37 percent of people in England now served by directly elected city region mayors and falling unemployment levels in every region since 2010.”