The government’s much-hyped Northern Powerhouse project has been “held back by austerity” and has failed to tackle child poverty, unemployment and poor transport links, a new report has revealed.
Five years on from its launch, an extra 200,000 children in the north are living in poverty, the number of late or cancelled trains have doubled and stark differences in the standard of living remain when compared to the rest of the UK.
Analysis by IPPR North warned the agenda to rebalance the UK’s economy – which was unveiled by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2014 – had been hindered by £3.6 billion cut to public spending since 2009/10.
This compares to a £4.7 billion rise in the south east and south west, whi public sector employment fell by 2.8% in the region, more than double the drop in London.
According to researchers, weekly pay also only increased by £12 in the north compared to £19 nationally, while the number of jobs paid less than the living wage rose by 150,000.
“The Northern Powerhouse agenda has helped to build momentum around the need to address the UK’s unacceptable regional inequalities,” said Sarah Longlands, director of IPPR North.
However, analysis shows the project has failed to tackle child poverty, insecure work and poor health, she continued, with the think-tank calling for further devolution and funding.
“If the agenda is to survive, and we are to build a region, and a nation of prosperity, then the next phase of the Northern Powerhouse must go beyond the rhetoric.
“A better north is possible, but it requires a proper long-term, resourced plan for change which works in the interests of people right across the north.”
Meanwhile, mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said there was a danger the Northern Powerhouse project “could be about to fizzle out”.
“There are signs in Greater Manchester that devolution is starting to work,” he told the BBC. “We’re doing more to get people back to work but overall there is a real danger that the Northern Powerhouse could be about to fizzle out.
“Westminster has failed the North of England and that is over decades under governments of all colours.”
But the report did show some progress in the north. Not only did employment grow by 6.9% – 0.7% higher than the UK as a whole – but the norths’ productivity gap also narrowed, with productivity in the north growing more than any other English region between 2014 and 2017.