Northern political leaders have called for investment in the north to be hard-wired into government policy, as figures show a stark disparity between quality of life in the north and south.
Manchester currently lags behind London and the South West in a number of important areas, with Manchester worse off in terms of life expectancy, average earnings and unemployment.
Leaders including Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin say that enshrining levelling up into UK law would solve problems with the current system, where different regions compete for central government funding.
Average healthy life expectancy for men in Manchester is 61.2 years in Manchester, more than five years lower than in Kensington and Chelsea, where it is 67.4 years.
For women the difference is more than ten years lower, with an expectancy of just 59.7 in Manchester compared to 70 in Kensington and Chelsea.
Average weekly wages in Manchester lag behind both the national average of £642.20, and the London average of £765.40.
The unemployment rate in Manchester is also higher in Manchester, standing at 5.8%, compared to a UK average of 3.7%, with 4.7% in London.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “The Levelling Up Fund announcement last week laid bare the issues with these short-term competitive funding pots. We end up with winners and losers but nobody is able to actually plan for long-term investment in their areas.
“Hard-wiring levelling up into UK law would move us away from policy by press release and start to tackle the unequal living standards we have in our country.
“If we were able to close the gaps between the North and London and the South East, we’d see drastic improvements in everything from incomes to skills, to ultimately boosting life expectancy.
“This would of course be good for people in the North, but would also help grow the UK economy as a whole.
“Germany shows us what can be done when you hard-wire legal guarantees to tackle inequalities and empower local leaders into the fabric of your country.
“Our own history has shown us that, too often, the North struggles to get to the top of the Government’s to-do list – whichever political party is in charge.
“That’s why we need to hard-wire levelling up into UK law and unlock the potential of the North to help the whole country thrive.”
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and Co-Chair of Convention of the North, said: “Across the North, we still too often face disparities of wealth, health and opportunity that could be redressed through a long-term approach to investment and infrastructure.
“Cities such as Manchester have a clear understanding of where investment is needed to generate growth that benefits everyone, and we are best placed to be able to deliver.
“For Levelling Up to be a coherent and effective policy, rather than a mere slogan, it needs to move away from being a competitive bidding process – with the rationale for decisions unclear – to a consistent, long-term approach which directs more funding to the areas which need it most and gives them control over how they best use it.”
Carsten Schneider, the Minister for East Germany and Equivalent Living Conditions in Olaf Scholz’ Government, addressed the Convention by video, setting out his country’s model of levelling up: “Regional structural policy has long been a cornerstone of German politics.
“The goal of creating equal living conditions everywhere in Germany can even be found in our constitution. There are good reasons for it.
“If regions are drifting apart, it is bad for everyone, including for the growing regions.
“If a variety of regions flourish, the whole country will prosper.”
They were speaking at the Convention of the North at Manchester Cathedral.
Manchester council offices photo credit: Daniel Harrison
