City’s economy ‘growing faster than London’ in last three years
Leeds highlighted in Powerhouse report
LEEDS’ ECONOMY has grown at a faster pace than London during the three years since the Northern Powerhouse was launched, new figures show.
Information in the UK Powerhouse report showed that Leeds’s economy had grown by eight per cent since George Osborne launched the initiative at the end of June 2014.
This compared with London, which grew by 6.9 per cent.
The new research showed certain sectors in Sheffield, York, Bradford and Hull were all performing well too, with the former city having grown its financial sector by 28 per cent since 2014.
However the report, compiled by think-tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and law firm Irwin Mitchell, showed that all of Yorkshire’s cities were positioned behind Manchester, which has seen output grow by 9.1 per cent in the same period.
However, Leeds’ job creation rate of 9.5 per cent exceeded that of both Manchester and London, the research showed.
Within the league table for financial performance, Leeds came second to London in terms of both Gross Value Added (GVA) and employment growth. Elsewhere, York and Wakefield were both shown to be leading the way for employment in the UK.
The study, which provides a quarterly estimate of data and job creation within 45 UK cities, also highlighted the fact that more needs to be done to rebalance the UK’s economy, revealing the longer-term picture to be slightly more bleak as it predicts that the gap between London and the rest of the UK will get even wider by 2026.
Leeds’ economy is set to grow by 12.8 per cent in the next 10 years, compared to 16.1 per cent for London and 22 per cent in fast-growing Milton Keynes.
Andrew Walker, head of business legal services at Irwin Mitchell in Leeds, said: “The results of this study are on the whole encouraging, particularly as it shows that Leeds is benefiting from a number of high-growth industries including healthcare and medical technologies, edtech and game development.
“The city is home to large digital companies such as NHS Digital, Rockstar Games, and houses Sky’s Betting, Gaming, and Technology enterprises and in order to make sure the city continues to thrive, it’s crucial that these industries are allowed to flourish.”
Mark Goldstone, head of business representation and policy at West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Northern Powerhouse brand is already making a difference to perceptions around the world so it is pleasing to see this reflected in our city’s performance.
“Leeds is already proving attractive to investors; in addition the growth of companies in the city has been strong since the end of the recession.”
Leader of Leeds City Council Coun Judith Blake said: “Despite the continued challenging economic environment, Leeds has continued to perform exceptionally well, especially in regards to job creation which is the highest in the country.”
The report said Leeds has expanded its financial sector substantially in recent years, with the city’s total output from finance and insurance increasing by 40 per cent between 2012 and 2015.
It also said that Sheffield’s financial sector is on the up, with about 43,000 employed in the sector over 2016.
Jack Coy, economist at Cebr, said: “Despite the UK-level economic slowdown over the first quarter, it is good to see some bright sparks in local economies across the country.”
WHEN GEORGE Osborne outlined his vision for building a “Northern Powerhouse” in 2014, he talked enthusiastically about creating an economic success story in the north of England to rival London.
The former Chancellor may be pleased to learn that the economy in Leeds has grown faster than London’s in the three years since his initiative was launched – though perhaps less so now that he’s swapped his Cheshire constituency for the job of newspaper editor in the capital.
According to the The UK Powerhouse report, which is produced with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), the economy of Leeds has grown by eight per cent since the end of June 2014, compared to just under seven per cent in London.
It is a welcome tonic for the region though the long-term forecast is more gloomy, with London’s economic growth, and places like Milton Keynes, expected to outstrip that of Leeds, accelerating still further the North-South divide.
The report came out on the same day that final routes of the Manchester and Leeds branches of HS2 were finally confirmed, which follows the announcement of construction contracts worth £6.6bn and the promise of 16,000 new jobs.
Just as the Siemens wind turbine plant is crucial to Hull’s economic future so, too, is HS2 for Leeds. With Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry having ruled out a Yorkshire-wide devolution deal, the focus for growth will revolve around our burgeoning cities and none more so than Leeds.
The challenge now facing our business and political leaders is to grasp these opportunities.