A North That Works For Everyone

Article

IPPR North calls on the government to let the North 'take back control' over its economic levers.

1. MAKE A SUCCESS OF BREXIT IN THE NORTH, BY…

  • supporting an all-party Northern Brexit Committee to map out the North's Brexit plan and a trading strategy [more]

  • boosting our rural communities as we leave the Common Agricultural Policy through new rural devolution deals to protect our land, support our farmers and prioritise our agri-tech, food and science sectors [more]

  • handing regions new powers over migration as free movement comes to an end, allowing communities and businesses to decide priority migration sectors. [more]

2. BOOST NORTHERN PRODUCTIVITY IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST, BY…

  • slashing Treasury red tape preventing Transport for the North using TfL style powers to attract private investment for infrastructure, including an east-west HS3 at the heart of a northern industrial strategy [more]

  • spending a fifth of R&D in the North, as the private sector does, and investing in super-fast broadband roll-out and digital skills[more]

  • empowering the North to lead a clean energy revolution, helping to meet decarbonisation targets and making the North a world leader in green energy. [more]

3. BUILD A NORTH THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE, BY…

  • unlocking up to £9,000 per benefit claimant through local employment schemes, so the benefits of someone being in work can be invested upfront in proven ways of getting people into lasting jobs [more]

  • strengthening England's leaders to deliver place-based public services, building a million new homes, on the green belt where necessary, and solving the social care crisis through smart local NHS integration [more]

  • giving everyone a great start in life by reforming the schools funding formula to create a powerhouse premium to attract great teachers to challenging areas, and investing in early years education. [more]

4. LET THE NORTH TAKE BACK CONTROL, BY…

  • meeting the public finance challenge by pooling departmental funding streams; incentivising local areas to innovate and do more with less; and offering England's mayoral combined authorities the same fiscal levers as Scotland and Wales [more]

  • establishing a Council of the North to give direction to the northern economy, held to account by ordinary people twice a year, through a Northern Citizens Assembly decided by lot [more]

  • supporting a Taking Back Control Commission to explore the balance of power in the UK and the North of England in particular. [more]

Related items

  1. Two male construction workers in high vis jackets laughing together in a van

    Mission-driven industrial relations: The case for fair pay agreements

    How fair pay agreements could support the government’s mission-based approach by resolving labour market challenges.

  2. Women in Scotland: the gendered impact of care on financial stability and well-being

    Women in Scotland are far likelier than men to take on childcare and other caring responsibilities, which puts them at an economic disadvantage. 
  3. One person handing a blue UK passport to another

    Citizenship: A race to the bottom?

    The ability to move from temporary immigration status to settlement, and ultimately to citizenship, is the cornerstone of a fair and functional immigration system.