The productivity issue in the UK is often framed as an issue driven by economic outcomes. This idea neglects some of the more complex structures that exist and contribute to the economic gaps in the UK. Professor Dave Richards, Professor Patrick Diamond and Dr Anna Sanders outline how government policy in the UK is too […]
Child of the North: Schools and education
COVID-19 exposed the disadvantage suffered by children and young people in our most deprived areas, disproportionately in the north of England. In this blog, Professor Caroline Bond and Professor Pamela Qualter discuss how these problems, and the accumulating evidence, demand a policy response. This is an adaptation of an article they co-authored for the Child […]
North West England: developing a regional roadmap for industrial bio-revolution
Escalating societal and political concerns over climate change have bolstered significant global focus on cutting carbon dioxide emissions. However, in a world still reeling from the effects of a global pandemic, development and implementation of effective resolution strategies are lacking. Profound change is needed to address damaging environmental, social, and economic repercussions of the current […]
Health for wealth: The link between health inequalities and productivity in northern England
Productivity in the UK, and particularly in the northern regions of England, has remained stubbornly low for decades, prompting economists to discuss a ‘productivity puzzle’. Here, Dr Luke Munford, explains how his research into health inequalities in northern England shows that investing in the health of the population could translate directly into substantial gains in […]
The Long-Term Policy Failures in Education – The Northern Powerhouse and a Fairer Start
The start of the new school year, debates about the value of homework and concerns about how the Northern Powerhouse education fund is being spent are a further reminder of the inequalities in the UK education system. It is a priority that policy makers focus on addressing the long-term inequalities in the education system. As […]
Northern Prosperity is National Prosperity – Five Years On
Reflections on policy before the Powerhouse Five years on from the publication of the Northern Economic Futures Commission report on revitalising the UK economy, Ed Cox, Director, IPPR North looks at what progress has been made in the intervening period. The turning point in terms of government interest in the North came when former chancellor […]
Agreeing to austerity: does signing up to devolution challenge the Northern Powerhouse?
Austerity and devolution are inextricably linked and present significant challenges to the government’s Northern Powerhouse and devolution strategies. This is because of the importance of the public sector and public services for both supporting growth policies and addressing the needs of disadvantaged groups and areas argue Dr David Etherington and Professor Martin Jones. By signing […]
Why fair pay must be a priority for Manchester’s new mayor
Paying the living wage must be at the top of the mayoral agenda if everyone who lives and works in Greater Manchester and beyond is to benefit from a growing economy, says Alec Spencer. In Greater Manchester, wages have fallen faster than the UK average since 2009 Devolution and Northern Powerhouse presents a critical opportunity to […]
Devo Manc and the Northern Powerhouse – why we must stop excluding young people
Next May, for the first time, Greater Manchester will go to the polls to vote for a Mayor who will oversee key areas including housing, transport and policing, as well as controlling the recently-devolved £6bn health and social care budget. But will young people’s voices be heard and what is being done to engage them? […]
City States – the Break-up of Britain or a New England?
Devo Manc and the Northern Powerhouse – are they a chance to change Greater Manchester for the better or are they just rhetoric? Michael Taylor looks at where the city is today, and says it’s time to seize the day. Overshadowing so much of what social democracy can be in the next century is Scotland. […]