All articles by Paul Swinney
Paul Swinney
Do “the creative industries” really matter for city economies?
Creative industries have long held a special place in economic development. But recent discussions that I’ve been party to in…
What the West Midlands’ local industrial strategy means for other cities
Back in May, the West Midlands won the race with Greater Manchester to publish the first local industrial strategy. No…
Is all economics local?
Last month, Andy Haldane, the Chief Economist at the Bank of England, published his latest in a series of thought…
Burnley shows why you can’t rebalance the British economy through manufacturing
Manufacturing plays a larger role in Burnley than in any other British city, taking up 22.6 per cent of its…
Is it fair that cities get more government funding than rural areas?
Last week the Centre for Cities submitted our response to the Government’s latest consultation in its Fair Funding Review for local government…
Sorry, Theresa May: The best way to create Stronger Towns is to invest in our cities
Yesterday’s news was dominated by the expected announcement of the Stronger Towns Fund and the apparent pork barrel politics of it. Whether…
Treating towns as bastions of Brexit ignores the reasons for the referendum result – and how to address them
The EU Referendum result has often been characterised as a revolt of Britain’s “left-behind” towns and rural areas against the…
Towns are the winners from Britain’s great urban exodus
You may not notice it unless you or your offspring are university-bound, but every autumn brings with it a vast…
So is London really a drain on the rest of the country?
One common complaint about London is that it acts as “a giant suction machine draining the life out of the…
Five thoughts on John McDonnell’s promise to revive Britain’s manufacturing sector
“We want to rebalance our economy. We need to make sure we invest in our infrastructure. That means making sure…