Paul Swinney on the North-South Divide and Urban Productivity

Why is Britain’s economy so lopsided? In most developed countries, you don’t have to move to the capital to find the best jobs, yet in the UK, that’s still the reality for many. London dominates, while our second-tier cities (Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, etc) underperform compared to their European counterparts.

Paul Swinney, 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, has spent his career unpicking this puzzle. In this episode, we explore why Britain’s economic geography looks the way it does, what’s holding back regional growth, and what role transport plays in fixing it. Paul explains what agglomeration means and why it matters, why productivity isn’t just about skills and why intra-city transport is more important than rail links between cities.

We also dive into how post-pandemic work trends are reshaping transport economics, why the UK systematically underinvests in urban connectivity and why solving the North-South divide isn’t just about fairness—it’s about unlocking national economic potential.

Given we have a Government obsessed with growth, I really hope Rachel Reeves hears this one…

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