Good Local Economics

As England’s regional development agencies close their doors for the last time, is it time to shift our focus away from regional inequalities and the north/south divide and towards an equitable vision for all places in the UK? Clare Goff reports

When the regional development agencies opened their doors in 1998, England was a polarised country. GDP levels in London and in the southeast were the highest in the country – at £16,200 per head and £14,500 per head – while in the north-east of England GDP stood at £9,800 per head (ONS). The gap between unemployment rates in the north and south in 1999 was over 3.5%.