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The UK's value-add economy is overwhelmingly based in capital-intensive, highly skilled industries, think stuff like finance, tech, high-end engineering and man
by rowanajmarshall 4y ago
The UK's value-add economy is overwhelmingly based in capital-intensive, highly skilled industries, think stuff like finance, tech, high-end engineering and manufacturing. These all strongly favour places like London and the South East with high concentrations of highly-educated (if expensive) people and capital. Outside of localised service jobs (think retail, education, trades, that kind of thing) we don't really have competitive mass employment industries. That economic reality is gonna keep holding back regional UK until we find something suiting their situation. Government spending can paper over some of it, but it's not a permanent solution.
- mensetmanusman 4y agoWhat about finance is capital intensive?
- courgette 4y agoThe edging part for instance ? You need piles of assets in various financial operations.
- pjc50 4y agoThe capital? The finance industry is literally made out of capital? https://www.theglobalcity.uk/resources/asset-management https://www.theglobalcity.uk/resources/asset-management : "With £11.6tn of assets under management, it is the second largest centre overall, after the USA"
- seanhandley 4y agoStill waiting to see the benefits of the “northern powerhouse”.
- smcl 4y agoThe "Northern Powerhouse Rail" seems like a good start ... if they actually bother to implement it. It's looking quite unlikely though, hell even HS2 might get further cuts.
- shapefrog 4y agoLess northerners coming down to London, taking all the good jobs and moaning that $500,000 could buy them a mansion in the north.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- smcl 4y agoYou realise this makes you look about 5x worse than the fictional, abstract "moaning" Geordie or Yorkshireman or Scot or whatever you described? Honestly, "taking all the good jobs" what nonsense.
- Moissanite 4y ago"Bloody <out group>, coming over here, taking our jobs."
- shapefrog 4y agoThey dont even speak the language or understand our culture.
- pjc50 4y agoIt's reasonable to say we need to focus on export industries, but I don't think it's as automatic as you assume that they should be concentrated in the south east. Manufacturing and engineering have traditionally been more of a Midlands thing. _Higher_ education is actually an export industry in the sense that foreigners spend lots of money on it, but the government hates it for various reasons and it's currently on strike as a result.
- pyb 4y agoThe North could have benefitted from a manufacturing renaissance, and reshoring in general, but Brexit put a damper on all that...
- sbuk 4y agoIronically the North voted leave, one of the reasons was to “stick” it to London and drive investment in the North. I say ironically because it was plainly obvious that when the tories got what they wanted, the rest of the country, except for London, was in for a hard time.
- pharmakom 4y agoSo ironic that London hedge funds might be the only beneficiaries of Brexit.
- EdwardDiego 4y agoI went to a great museum in Coventry about all the things they used to be build in the West Midlands. Some really cool cars, including that crazy six wheel Jag F1 car, but left feeling sad, it was like an obituary to their manufacturing industries.
- simonbarker87 4y agoThe midlands still has: - Jaguar Land Rover - Aston Martin - Polestar - London Taxi Co - Lotus That’s what I can think of off the top of my head and there a plenty of automotive suppliers and start ups in the area UK automotive is a massive industry and still very relevant in the midlands.
- kranke155 4y agoUK needs to re industrialise. Post-industrial societies seem to have been in general a failure.