Levelling Up: Four Problems With Boris Johnson’s Flagship Project

Dr Jack Newman, Professor Nigel Driffield, Professor Nigel Gilbert and Professor Simon Collinson discuss some of the issues with the new Levelling Up White Paper.   The UK government has revealed its plan to level up the country – a white paper setting out policies to tackle inequality between places. The plan comes at a defining moment. It’s … Continue reading “Levelling Up: Four Problems With Boris Johnson’s Flagship Project”

West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 4 February 2022

The long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper was published on 2 February, setting out 12 missions: living standards, R&D, transport infrastructure, digital connectivity, education, skills, health, well-being, pride in place, housing, crime and local leadership. Domestically, ‘partygate’ has been dominating the news agenda: on 31 January the Cabinet Office published Sue Gray’s Update Report on the … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 4 February 2022”

Devolution and Levelling Up: Boon or Bane for the Region?

Charlotte Hoole discusses the levelling up agenda, what it means for devolution, and what opportunities it presents for the West Midlands.  This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2021. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by City-REDI, University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. It … Continue reading “Devolution and Levelling Up: Boon or Bane for the Region?”

Science, Universities and Rebalancing the UK Economy: A Provocation   

Professor John Goddard suggests how targeted R&D spending in universities could help rebalance the UK economy regionally.  R&D Spending and the ‘levelling up’ agenda The Conservative Party’s election manifesto pledged to spend £22bn per annum on research by 2024-25. Many argued that this could only be justified if the research system moves towards supporting the … Continue reading “Science, Universities and Rebalancing the UK Economy: A Provocation   “

WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda

In this blog, Ben Brittain and Dr Abigail Taylor discuss a new WM REDI project with the Industrial Strategy Council investigating governance and institutional arrangements, focusing particularly on the relationship between governance structures, policy levers and inclusive growth outcomes.  Local regions have been hard hit by the economic fallout of this pandemic. The extent of … Continue reading “WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda”