A Northern Big Bang: Unleashing Investment in the North

Nick King, Managing Director at Henham, with the Rt. Hon Jake Berry, former Minister without Portfolio, makes the case for a new ‘Big Bang’ for the North to unleash investment into the Northern economy, deliver productivity gains, economic growth and higher wages. 

The North of England was once the powerhouse of the British economy, with its industrial heartlands among the most advanced local economies on the entire globe. Today, it has some of the most deprived areas in the Western world and its economy is among the least productive in Europe. This is not because of any natural economic law but because the British economy – just like British politics – has been built around the needs and demands of London and the South East, which have monopolised investment, talent and attention.

To resolve this, the report makes several recommendations. These including updating pension scheme rules to encourage more investment into Northern infrastructure; allowing the writing-off of all capital expenditure; creating a new Initial Investment Incentive to help spur a Green Industrial Revolution; making major planning decisions in weeks not years; creating a new Northern Infrastructure Bond aimed at global investors, as well as a Northern Recovery Bond to allow local investors to support growth. 

The proposals put forward are designed to unlock billions of pounds of private sector investment. These proposals, and that investment, can help create a Northern Big Bang, comparable to the 1980s Big Bang in the City of London, which catalysed the economic growth in London and the South East.