Prime Minister Andy Burnham and senior Labour figures have positioned economic expansion as their primary objective, arguing that social democratic policies depend on rising GDP. Economists Karel Williams and Sukhdev Johal counter that this approach overlooks deep-seated local inequalities, noting that Manchester's growth has left nearby areas like Oldham and Wigan struggling. While Burnham has successfully capped fares and nationalised local buses, his wider reliance on foreign investors has drawn criticism. Projects like Middleton's mayoral development corporation demonstrate how supporting foundational community services can deliver tangible public benefits independently of headline econ…
Key points
National social democratic ambitions should not remain conditional on achieving aggregate…: National social democratic ambitions should not remain conditional on achieving aggregate gross domestic product growth targets.
Prioritising foundational sectors like utilities, transport, and care delivers faster rel…: Prioritising foundational sectors like utilities, transport, and care delivers faster relief for regional affordability issues.
Devolution efforts must focus on empowering local communities rather than relying heavily…: Devolution efforts must focus on empowering local communities rather than relying heavily on international investors.
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As prime ministers have come and gone at bewildering speed in recent years, the search for elusive economic growth has become the overriding fixation of the British political class. In the lead-up to the 2024 general election, Sir Keir Starmer declared that “growth must become Labour’s obsession”, given the financial constraints that any new government would be under. The scale of Labour’s progressive offer, it was made clear, would be umbilically linked to its ability to generate a significant uptick in GDP.
“Growth in every postcode” is also the early mantra of Andy Burnham’s government. The prime minister swept to power partly by running on Greater Manchester’s record as the UK’s fastest-growing city region while he was mayor. Echoing Mr Starmer’s approach, Mr Burnham’s chancellor, John Healey, told the Labour party conference in September: “Without growth, there is no social democracy.”
But as the economists Karel Williams and Sukhdev Johal suggest in the latest edition of the Guardian’s new Radical Thinking podcast, that is a flawed and politically unhelpful linkage to make. In a transformed geopolitical environment, they argue, the…
Magistrates in Paris are formally examining an attack on a residential structure that left two people dead in the Lebanese capital. The inquiry follows legal filings by a survivor who lost family members during the recent military bombardment. This step introduces independent European judicial oversight into allegations concerning the conduct of armed forces operating in the region.
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