COMMENT The R rate rising to above 1 in the North West is a stark reminder that the global coronavirus pandemic is having a very different impact across the country. The region has some of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK, and political leaders have warned that the impacts of coronavirus will be felt more here than anywhere else.
It was only after lobbying by metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram that the government started to publish regional rates of infection. In fact, the mayors have argued that the relaxing of lockdown rules may have come too early for the North West.
Whatever you think of how the government has handled the crisis, balancing control of the spread versus limiting the damage to the economy is an almost impossible conundrum. It’s not as if regional disparities are new, but they risk being exacerbated if we don’t get the recovery plan right.
Take the lead
Coronavirus will undoubtedly accelerate the changes that were already happening in town and city centre retail, office use and service economies. The challenges are going to be huge, but our city regions have the chance to be bold and deliver a different, and fairer, economic future. They need to be properly resourced to respond to the crisis, so they can take the lead on building the strongest possible recovery and safeguard the economies of the surrounding towns.
We need to focus on the key sectors that drive our regional economy, and support them to return to economic activity. We should be working with government to identify which sectors should be reactivated and when – and these will differ from region to region.
Our city regions are best placed to develop and deliver recovery plans. We’re the ones that understand the impact of the virus on the ground, what’s needed to get the economy up and running and what support we need. Devolving more power and accountability to the regions would mean we can act quicker and be more responsive.
In Greater Manchester, we’re already working on our healthcare system, our transport network, our homelessness challenges and our spatial planning. Having to still go to civil servants for sign-off on local decisions seems archaic, and also unnecessary at a time when it’s more obvious than ever that local politicians in tandem with local business leaders are best placed to make the right decisions for their area.
Empowering communities
As well as causing undeniable heartache for many, these past few months have seen a Blitz-esque “we’re in this together” unity – a renewed focus on communities and neighbourhoods that we’ve not seen for decades. Alongside making our regional economies more resilient, greater devolution will also give our towns and cities more accountability and control over their futures and empower communities.
That’s not to say we want to do this alone. We absolutely need to work with other city regions and combined authorities, across the North and beyond, to reduce regional disparities and drive our recovery.
This is a time of great change and challenging inequalities that go way beyond coronavirus. Life as we knew it has changed forever, but we have the chance to be masters of our own destinies.
Tim Heatley is co-founder of Capital & Centric
