North: £6.3bn less South: £3.2bn more
Report highlights shocking disparity in government spending since 2009
THE north has been hit hardest by cuts in public spending while the south has seen an increase in government money, according to an in-depth study.
While total public spending in the North has fallen by £6.3bn since 2009/10, more than any other region, the south east and south west has seen a £3.2bn rise, according to think-tank IPPR North.
Their State Of The North 2018 report, running to 64 pages and covering the north east, north west and Yorkshire and the Humber regions, home to 15 million people, urges northern political leaders to push the Northern Power- house agenda amid the distraction of ‘Westminster Brexit chaos.’
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said the report showed the ‘irrefutable case’ it was time the north was at the front of the queue for public money.
The IPPR report shows weekly pay has fallen by £21 in the north since 2008 in real terms, while two million working-age adults and a million children live in poverty.
The north has also lost 300,000 government jobs since the peak in 2009 and eight of the 10 worst-hit police forces are in the north.
On transport, London has received twice as much transport spending per head than the UK average or the north over the last decade, while London received 41.1 per cent of all Arts Council England national portfolio grant funding in the 2018-22 programme.
Many of the neighbourhoods with the lowest life expectancy are found in the north, including Salford.
The Northern Powerhouse was an idea launched five years ago by then chancellor George Osborne, focused on core cities Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield, to increase the productivity of city regions thereby spreading wealth and opportunity.
At the same time, the government was committed to bringing the deficit down by cutting public spending.
This year’s annual IPPR North report says a new phase of the plan should aim for more devolution – putting more power in the hands of city mayors – support job creation and investment and focus also on towns and rural areas.
Director of IPPR North, Sarah Longlands, said: “Now is the time to develop the Northern Powerhouse agenda in to a plan which works for the people of the north providing them with opportunities to share in the potential economic opportunities of the future.”
Mr Burnham said: “This government promised us a Northern Powerhouse and northern leaders stand ready to work with them to close the north-south divide which pervades right across public spending, poverty rates and life expectancy. But, almost five years after the government promised us a Northern Powerhouse, we learn public spending in the north has fallen while rising in the south. This has got to stop and it is time the north came to the front of the queue for public investment.”
The government responded to the report, saying the north was ‘thriving’ with a record number of people in work. A spokesman added: “Never before has it had such a powerful local voice, following the election of four new metro mayors, and a fifth on the way, who we have empowered to champion their communities and build on this success.”