Why levelling up and global Britain must go together - Sir Roger Marsh

Two important documents have been published in the past fortnight.

The first is the Government's long awaited White Paper on Levelling Up, which as the Chair of the NP11 group of Northern LEPs was particularly welcome. The second was the Global Britain Commission’s first report, ‘Global Britain and why it matters’, setting out why the Global Britain agenda is so important to business and the UK.

Aside from both being flagship policies of the current Government, you wouldn’t think that levelling up and Global Britain have much in common. One focuses on better distributing success and opportunity across our nation, and the other on how we engage with partners around the world. One domestically focussed and one international.

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Yet the two are inextricably linked. Global Britain is not only about our foreign, defence and diplomatic policy but focussing on the UK’s strengths to help open new markets for UK goods and services, attract investment, innovate, increase our prosperity and effectively connect with and compete on the global stage.

A successful Global Britain can play a crucial role in levelling up the parts of the UK whose growth and productivity have lagged behind, says Sir Roger MarshA successful Global Britain can play a crucial role in levelling up the parts of the UK whose growth and productivity have lagged behind, says Sir Roger Marsh
A successful Global Britain can play a crucial role in levelling up the parts of the UK whose growth and productivity have lagged behind, says Sir Roger Marsh
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We know that, despite some progress and hard work, the North continues to not yet achieve its full economic potential. Until that happens, both the Global Britain and the levelling up agendas will fail.

More positively, a successful Global Britain can play a crucial role in levelling up the parts of the UK whose growth and productivity have lagged behind. If successful there would be a marked benefit to the UK economy as a whole as well that of the North. Were the North of England to produce the same economic output as the UK average, it would produce £88bn more than it does now.

The North currently trails the UK when it comes to trade in goods per person. Were the exports of goods from the Northern regions brought in line with the UK average, the North would be exporting £26bn more a year.

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But there is already much success in this area on which we can build.

If the North were its own country it would be around the 20th largest economy in the world – larger than Thailand, Ireland and Israel. That is not a small economy. The towns and cities of the North were at the forefront of the first industrial revolution, and businesses across our combined region are now powering the fourth industrial revolution. They are leading the UK’s transition to net zero, with both of the country’s first two industrial decarbonisation clusters on our North East and North West coasts respectively creating huge global investment opportunities. And are home to three of the country’s eight freeports.

Northern businesses are exporting goods and services around the world, with particular strengths in fast-growing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, digital and green energy.

As a historical hub of manufacturing, boosting the involvement of UK manufacturing firms in international trade - as Global Britain seeks to do - will be a key policy tool in boosting regional productivity and hence, wealth.

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We know that our economy has been overly dependent on the economic output of London and the South East. This has limited the potential of areas like the North, and it’s also limited the competitiveness and growth potential of the UK as a whole.

And as our report sets out, around 25% of the UK’s export jobs are based within London despite only having 13% of the population. Exporting jobs are 7 percent higher paying than the UK average – the equivalent of £2,000 per person – which means bringing the North in line with London could mean a huge collective pay rise for the North.

But the North also doesn't want handouts. As the Levelling Up White Paper set out last week, ‘success in levelling up is about growing the economic pie, everywhere and for everyone, not re-slicing it.’

For me, a truly successful Global Britain will be one that creates opportunity locally, delivering benefits that people and businesses in the North can see and feel, while also maximising the potential of every UK region to make the country a global leader for the 21st and 22nd centuries and beyond. It is vital that the Government’s levelling up and Global Britain succeed, together.

By Sir Roger Marsh OBE DL, Chair of NP11 and Global Britain Commissioner