State of the North 2020/21: Power up, level up, rise up

Covid-19 has thrown our long-term inequities and lack of resilience into a stark spotlight. A recovery that simply restores the old order would be unsustainable and – for many – unacceptable.

In this report we set out some of the ways in which the North’s economy does not, currently, create the conditions for a good life for everyone in the region – and how a truly ‘levelled up’ North might look.

In an extraordinary year, as we experience a global pandemic and approach Brexit, we propose a series of ‘tests’ to help define ‘levelling up’ and increase accountability for initiatives that seek to rebalance – or ‘level up’ – the regions of England and the UK.