We all know London is the UK’s biggest city, it’s a financial hub and – so I sometimes wonder what the point of doing any research to confirm that is. Then again, it is the FT that has done the research, and generally, when they write something, I read it.
FT’s analysis points out that “London has opened a wider gap in economic output compared to the rest of the UK.”
The findings highlight that since the recession came knocking on our doors, employment has grown 2.9 per cent in London while the other regions have been left high and dry.
May I divert your attention to the fact that despite wearing the crown of the richest region of the UK, London has the highest unemployment rate in the UK and that one in every 10 Londoners is jobless.
Economic output per head is highest in inner London west at £109,278, 10 times greater than that of the lowest area, Gwent Valleys in Wales at £10,654. Yes, the figure is astonishing and screams regional disparity but let’s not forget the not-so-pretty poverty profile of London’s boroughs.
An independent report by Trust for London shows that a higher proportion of people of all ages live below the poverty line in London than in other regions in the UK, with child poverty overall remaining unchanged since the late 1990s and actually rising in households where at least one adult is working.
Moving on, FT’s analysis points out that house prices have fallen by only 4.2 per cent in London since March 2008, whereas they have dropped by 24 per cent in north-east England, 19 per cent in the north west and 18 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber
Surely you can’t blame London for seeing the lowest fall in house prices, the capital is home to UK’s richest including Lakshmi Mittal, Roman Abramovich and the Reuben brothers.
John Hawksworth, chief economist of PwC, said he expected London and the south east to register economic growth of about 1.5 per cent this year, with regions such as Wales, Scotland and north-east England expanding by just 0.5 per cent. That again drives home the point that London is the engine of UK’s growth.
I think its about time we start seeing our glass as half full because if only the host of the Olympics 2012 is doing well, isn’t that good news for the rest of the UK?
- What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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