Andy Burnham: The Government has decided it is anti-city. It is not a clever strategy

Amanda Searle
WEST END FINAL

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What’s the UK’s most liveable city, you say? Well, since you ask… Okay, you have probably never thought about it. But, as you might have guessed by now, you’re about to find out any way.

“The highest-ranked city in the UK is Manchester in 54th,” reported last Wednesday’s Evening Standard on the latest top 100 world cities list, “while London is ranked 60th”.

Gloating is not attractive in anyone, let alone a politician. But, come on, if you were the Mayor of Greater Manchester with a column in this newspaper, are you seriously saying that you wouldn’t mention it? Of course you would.

Just like me, you would use it to plant a seed in the minds of all those talented, twenty-something Londoners that Manchester might be the place to spend their thirties, where you can enjoy a London-style atmosphere and attractions, find housing for half the cost and even sometimes get change from a fiver when you buy a pint.

But, in truth, my bragging rights are not as good as they seem. Manchester and London might be the UK’s top two liveable cities — but we have both dropped down the economists’ rankings over the last year. Sadly, we are both less liveable than we were.

That’s because England’s cities have suffered more during the pandemic than many others around the world — and that should be a warning sign to the Government. Our famous cities will need to be the engines that fire economic revival over the next two years. But are they ready to roar into life? Not as much as we need them to be. Pandemics will always have a greater impact on places where people gather in greater numbers — ie, cities. But there is also something about this Government’s handling of the pandemic which hasn’t done enough to compensate for that fact, nor help the people-centric industries which are so intrinsic to city life.

For instance, they have stuck rigidly to a policy on vaccine distribution that treats all parts of the country equally, even though it is cities and their surrounds where case rates have tended to be higher, health is poorer and the risks of spread greater. Another example is the Government’s support schemes. Welcome as they have been, they are not sufficiently attuned to city labour markets where more people work freelance, or on contract, in sectors like live events, conferences and culture. Hence many of the three million people denied public support are to be found in cities.

And I have not even mentioned this week’s one-month delay to delay to the Roadmap and the continuation of the stop-start approach to the night-time economy, which has hurt hospitality and live entertainment so much. Step Four of the Roadmap is largely about delaying things that happen in cities. How can it be right to extend the restrictions and not extend the support packages for the businesses affected? Up until now, this Government has positioned itself as a pro-town, anti-city administration. While this might be a clever political strategy, it is not a clever economic one — not in the current moment.

There is no optimistic scenario for the UK economy over the next five years which does not see cities significantly raising levels of growth and productivity back to where they were pre-pandemic. And, of course, vibrant cities lift their surrounding towns, with trading opportunities for the local suppliers.

Levelling up will be doomed as a political concept if it’s about holding cities back so it’s easier for towns to catch up. For instance, I have real concerns about a policy which forces above-inflation increases on Transport for London. Levelling up should be about giving everywhere London-level fares not making transport in London as over-priced as everywhere else in England.

So, now more than ever, the voices of our cities needs to be heard. Manchester and London can be a powerful axis in that regard. In that spirit, I have asked our night-time economy adviser, Sacha Lord, to join forces with his London counterpart, Amy Lame, to mobilise hospitality businesses North and South behind a call for the extension of furlough, business rates relief and reduced VAT in line with the amended Roadmap.

With the right support both cities could rise back into the top half of the most liveable list in next year’s rankings. The hospitality businesses that have survived so far have done so by innovating and making our city streets more similar to those across Europe. We need the Government to support that change — not make towns versus cities the next battle in the culture wars.

How do you think we can help cities recover from the pandemic? Let us know in the comments below.

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