BRITAIN’S North-South divide is getting worse as research reveals the south creates 12-times more jobs.
BBC Business reports that study by the Centre for Cities shows for every 12 jobs created since 2004 in southern cities, only one was created in cities elsewhere.
The stark picture the report paints of the enormous gap in the fortunes of UK cities over 10 years underlines why a ‘steady as she goes’ approach must be scrapped
It said overall growth had been mainly driven by southern English cities but, north of the border, big Scottish cities had grown well and not wholly because of oil money.
Andrew Carter Centre for Cities said: “The stark picture the report paints of the enormous gap in the fortunes of UK cities over 10 years underlines why a ‘steady as she goes’ approach must be scrapped.”
The organisation, set up in 2005 as an independent research organisation by Lord Sainsbury, said the number of jobs created in London rose by more than 17% between 2004 and 2013.
The three Welsh cities performed slightly below the UK average, with Cardiff, Swansea and Newport falling behind the UK cities’ average.
At the same time Blackpool, Rochdale and Gloucester suffered falls of 10%.
This picture is mirrored by the pattern of business start-ups, with Swindon in the south seeing the creation of a third more businesses compared with a fall of 5.5% in Grimsby.
The organisation wants more powers devolved to regions to help them create prosperity and ensure smaller places do not fall behind as core cities grow.
