Northern Economic Futures Commission > Project

Northern Economic Futures Commission Priority

IPPR North , business and industry , devolution and localism , economy , regional issues

The Northern Economic Futures Commission was established in July 2011 to spearhead an ambitious programme of activity and research over 18 months to look at the critical issues facing the economy of the North and set out a new approach to local and regional economic policy, driven by decision-makers in the North of England.

There is a strong rationale for a new focus on the economies of the North of England. The prevailing narrative about the economic performance of the North contrasts the dominance of the prosperous and powerful Greater South East with the lagging regions of the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and the North East. This is not a recent phenomenon nor is it a simple picture. But, despite more than a decade of sustained economic growth, the recent recession bit hard and is now being followed by deep public sector cuts which are likely to affect recovery in the North more severely than other regions.

Project details

The aim of the Northern Economic Futures Commission is to articulate a 10-year strategy for economic growth across the North of England.

Its objectives are threefold:

To articulate a strong vision for the kind of economy we are seeking to develop in the North of England, understanding its role within a national and global context.
To propose a coherent policy agenda and spatial framework within which national government and other players can take decisions about strategic investment.
To provide a clear evidence base for strategic planning and local decision-making within and between LEPs.

The Commission will achieve these objectives through exploring a series of eight key questions, each of which frames a key theme.

What can be learned from the past about the Northern economy and the ability of policymaking to shape it?
What should a successful Northern economy look like?
Where will economic growth come from?
How will a new phase of economic growth be financed?
How do we mobilise assets and skills in innovation and nurture enterprise in the North of England?
What are the priorities for employment and skills in Northern labour markets?
What are the key priorities for transport, housing and other infrastructure challenges?
Does the North of England have the structures and powers it needs to drive growth?

The Commission

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The Commission is made up of 16 high profile figures bringing expertise from a wide range of disciplines and interests. Commissioners draw together knowledge and experience of a wide range of business sectors, economic experts and other civic leaders from across the North of England. The Commission includes people with national and international roles who bring additional experience and knowledge, and provide the opportunity for expert input about the North from an external perspective.

Membership of the Commission is as follows:

Geoff Muirhead CBE, Former Chief Executive Officer, Manchester Airports Group (Chair)
Ed Cox, Director, IPPR North (Deputy Chair)
Bill Adams, Regional Secretary, Yorkshire & Humber TUC
John Anderson, Regional Director, BT Yorkshire & Humber
Rhiannon Bearne, Group Assistant Director - Policy, The Cyrenians
Paul Callaghan, Chairman, Leighton Group
Adeeba Malik, Deputy Chief Executive, QED-UK
Professor Philip McCann, Chair of Economic Geography, University of Groningen
David McKeith, Chairman, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Rodger McMillan, Therapy Area Head, AstraZeneca
John Mothersole, Chief Executive, Sheffield City Council
Peter Nears, Strategic Planning Director, Peel Holdings
Ann Pittard, Large Business Development Lead, Leeds City Region
Professor Philip Shapira, Professor of Innovation Management and Policy, Manchester Business School
Bill Tompson, Head of Rural and Regional Development, OECD
Julia Unwin, Chief Executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

The work of the Commission will be structured into a number of phases: the collection and assembling of existing evidence, research commissioning and generation to fill knowledge gaps, and reporting. Commission meetings in July, October and December 2011 and February 2012 will operate as ‘hearings’ where the Commission will take evidence from a range of sources, aiming to explore and synthesise thinking on its key themes. It will produce an interim report in spring 2012, after which it will hold further meetings in April, June and August to receive feedback from further research it may choose to commission itself, and to discuss emerging themes and issues. It will make its final report in autumn 2012.

The Commission will be guided by a small secretariat within IPPR North based in Manchester and Newcastle. The programme will receive additional advice and support from IPPR in London as required.

Project background

While the common history of unfinished industrial change and transition binds the North and its territories, and underpins the rationale for the work of this Commission, there are also problems in the South. Some of these problems are shared with the North, driven by industrial change and spatial restructuring, but some are different, such as house price pressures, congestion and exaggerated inequality. But for the UK economy to be firing on all cylinders there is a genuine need for a new sense of ‘rebalancing’.

This context raises some immediate questions: Where will the jobs come from to replace those lost in the recession and the cuts? Where should the North focus its attention to promote economic growth and increase productivity? What are the priorities for innovation, infrastructure, investment and skills?

It also provides an opportunity to take stock and consider some more profound issues: Should the goal of growth centre on convergence with the South of England, or should we look further afield to assess local and regional competitiveness? What distinctive assets does the North of England hold, such as land, water and energy generation that can build the economic resilience of the UK economy? What can the North learn from other European regional economies as it tries to respond to the global economic power shift to the east? And can the North take a lead in addressing a set of national economic challenges: developing a more environmentally sustainable, low-carbon economy; dealing with longer-term demographic trends such as an ageing population, health challenges and growing concerns about immigration?

In recent years, significant research has been carried out and evidence generated about these issues, not least under the auspices of the regional development agencies, within local authorities, at universities and other academic institutions, in government departments and in other quasi-state organisations such as The Northern Way. Some of these have now been dismantled and in their place we now have a new set of instruments, focused upon local enterprise partnerships, but there is a danger that under such new arrangements important learning from the past will be lost.

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