A North That Works For Everyone

Article

IPPR North calls on the government to let the North 'take back control' over its economic levers.

1. MAKE A SUCCESS OF BREXIT IN THE NORTH, BY…

  • supporting an all-party Northern Brexit Committee to map out the North's Brexit plan and a trading strategy [more]

  • boosting our rural communities as we leave the Common Agricultural Policy through new rural devolution deals to protect our land, support our farmers and prioritise our agri-tech, food and science sectors [more]

  • handing regions new powers over migration as free movement comes to an end, allowing communities and businesses to decide priority migration sectors. [more]

2. BOOST NORTHERN PRODUCTIVITY IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST, BY…

  • slashing Treasury red tape preventing Transport for the North using TfL style powers to attract private investment for infrastructure, including an east-west HS3 at the heart of a northern industrial strategy [more]

  • spending a fifth of R&D in the North, as the private sector does, and investing in super-fast broadband roll-out and digital skills[more]

  • empowering the North to lead a clean energy revolution, helping to meet decarbonisation targets and making the North a world leader in green energy. [more]

3. BUILD A NORTH THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE, BY…

  • unlocking up to £9,000 per benefit claimant through local employment schemes, so the benefits of someone being in work can be invested upfront in proven ways of getting people into lasting jobs [more]

  • strengthening England's leaders to deliver place-based public services, building a million new homes, on the green belt where necessary, and solving the social care crisis through smart local NHS integration [more]

  • giving everyone a great start in life by reforming the schools funding formula to create a powerhouse premium to attract great teachers to challenging areas, and investing in early years education. [more]

4. LET THE NORTH TAKE BACK CONTROL, BY…

  • meeting the public finance challenge by pooling departmental funding streams; incentivising local areas to innovate and do more with less; and offering England's mayoral combined authorities the same fiscal levers as Scotland and Wales [more]

  • establishing a Council of the North to give direction to the northern economy, held to account by ordinary people twice a year, through a Northern Citizens Assembly decided by lot [more]

  • supporting a Taking Back Control Commission to explore the balance of power in the UK and the North of England in particular. [more]

Related items

  1. Who gets a good deal? Revealing public attitudes to transport in Great Britain

    Transport isn’t working. That’s the message from the British public. This is especially true if you’re on a low income, disabled or living in the countryside. The cost of living crisis has exposed the shortcomings of our transport system,…

  2. Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan on TalkTV discussing AI

    IPPR's Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan on TalkTV discussing his new report on the impact of generative AI on the UK labour market.
  3. Man using AI chatbot

    Transformed by AI: How generative artificial intelligence could affect work in the UK – and how to manage it

    Technological change is a good thing. It has brought exponential gains to living standards and is the foundation of modern society. Yet unmanaged technological change has always come with risks and disruptions.