New report sets out what Manchester's economy must do to compete with London

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The Government needs to "to get serious about the scale of change required" if Manchester is to compete with London and help tackle the country's glaring regional inequalities, according to an influential think-tank.

A study published today by the Resolution Foundation said the “twin second cities” of Birmingham and Manchester must be central to the Government’s strategy to boost productivity, but argues there is a lack of “seriousness” about the scale of the challenge. Read more: What happened to Greater Manchester MPs in the Labour reshuffle? It comes as a separate report by the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank claims the machinery of central Government is not set up to deliver the promise of levelling up or Labour’s plans to reduce disparities across the country.

The Resolution Foundation said wholesale changes in Manchester and Birmingham, including a major shift away from traditional industries and an expansion of “inadequate” town centres, are key to boosting national economic growth.

Reducing the productivity gap between the two cities and London so it is equivalent to the gap between Paris and its two next biggest French cities would provide a significant boost to average earnings for the combined population of 5.6 million inhabitants.