Politicians must be more honest about the winners and losers in the new global economy, say the authors of a new study.
Research institute the Centre for Cities has called on the Government to focus its regeneration efforts on the losers in globalisation, targeting cash at re-skilling the workforce and improving transport links to areas of employment.
Centre for Cities director Dermot Finch said: ‘Globalisation cuts both ways in UK cities.
‘Higher-skilled people and well-connected cities tend to gain more from globalisation.
‘That’s why Reading has seen jobs and population growth and Liverpool’s employment base and population have shrunk.
‘Politicians cannot and should not reverse this tide of global economic change, but they can be more honest about it and do more to support the people and places hit hardest by globalisation.’
The report found that, while towns such as Reading and Milton Keynes, were flourishing in the global economy, more traditional industrial urban areas such as Stoke and Doncaster were not.
Around 40% of Reading’s workforce is employed in the top 20 exporting sectors, compared with just 20% in both Stoke and Doncaster.
This has been reflected in the shift of population figures; Liverpool has lost 16% of its population since the 1980s, while Milton Keynes’ numbers have swelled by 78% as its service industries boom.
The report’s authors have called on cities to club together across city regions so they can promote city ‘brands’, such as Greater Manchester and Greater Birmingham. And they want more focused regeneration work in light of the findings.
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