You are in > manchester.com  > News > North-south divide 'getting bigger'

Finance

North-south divide 'getting bigger'

06/08/2007

The government needs to "get real" about the widening north-south divide, the head of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North has said.

A report published today accuses the government of failing on its target of reducing the gap in growth rates between England's different regions.

It cites government figures showing that the north-east, north-west, the Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside have all diverged away from the national average of output per head since 1997. London, by contrast, has exceeded average national growth in the last decade.

"The standard government line on the north-south divide is that inequalities within regions are as dramatic as those between regions. This is true but just because you deal with inequalities within regions it does not mean you should ignore inequalities between regions," IPPR North director Sue Stirling said.

"The government has not explicitly targeted the gap between rich and poor, nor the gap between north and south."

In the last ten years the government sought to encourage focus at the local level through its regional development agencies, but their unpopularity has so far prevented them from becoming reality.

A proposed north-east development agency was rejected by voters in a referendum. Over three-quarters rejected the proposals.

© Adfero Ltd