The Core Cities cock-up
Michael Parkinson (no, not that one) delivered a pretty damaging assessment of our region's two great cities at the tail end of January. In a report for John Prescott's Core Cities programme the Professor of Urban Affairs from Liverpool John Moores gave Manchester and Liverpool a bit of a pasting.
Among the hundreds of pages of close-set analysis, the league table that really hit the headlines arranged us all according to the number of euros we make per head. Bad news.
Further afield, Newcastle suffered, as did Birmingham. In fact, all four came in the bottom six out of 61.
So is that fair? And in response should we search our souls for a way to improve and to try and emulate those that did so much better, like Hanover, Helsinki or Stuttgart? Should Manchester seek to become a carbon copy of Frankfurt, top of the GDP league? Of course not. Anyone who has been to half of these cities could tell you that they're boring, lifeless commuter towns that are suffering shrinking urban cores and an increased level of disaffection. Stuttgart? Dusseldorf? Don't get me started. I'd rather relocate back to London, and that's saying something. If I was pushed to say something nice, then at best I'd describe them as 'clean'.
The index I preferred to turn to - and not just Manchester because did well - would have to be the BOHO index by the think-tank Demos. It placed Manchester at the top of a creativity league table and had more of a sense of what makes a real city. Let's remember what makes it great to live in Liverpool, Manchester and the North West. We have optimism. We are inventive. We have world-class universities and a major airport. We have inventive businesses, a strong sense of community, real characters in all walks of life and a strong industrial heritage that is the core of a renewal in economic growth. We have true and improving quality of life. All the things that the other sections of the Core Cities report cites as being vital in a vibrant city of the future.
Are we complacent? I don't think so. Our cover story this month makes a passionate case for radical action on transport projects. Let's get the region moving. Let's back people of vision with a continuation of the legacy of the builders of the Ship Canal, the Liverpool to Manchester railway.
GDP is a distraction. The South East is overheating as a result of the budget-busting binge they've been on (subsidised by the rest of the UK) and is becoming unlivable for key workers and rat racers alike. Don't sell our two cities short. Capital of Culture or Capital of Knowledge, let's remember that we are not Frankfurt - or London - and long may we remain so.
Michael Taylor, editor
Are personal digital assistants the new mobile phones, or are mobiles getting so much smarter that they are overtaking their less connected cousins?
In between after-dinner speeches, entertaining foreign dignitaries and running his hugely successful restaurants and fast food operations, Gerry Yeung finds time to talk to Rachel Bristowe about his new role, new ventures and lessons learned during his 34 years in this country
Transport matters. Regional business leaders frequently cite transport as a barrier to our growth. Our transport campaign starts here.
The calibre of advertisers in Midlands Business Insider speaks for itself. Whether promoting deal activity or selling internet services, the advertiser list reads like a who's who of the business community.
Unrivalled information. The quality of the editorial, original research and statistical data has helped position the Insider magazines as an unrivalled source of regional business information.
Unrivalled information. The quality of the editorial, original research and statistical data has helped position the Insider magazines as an unrivalled source of regional business information.
Unrivalled information. The quality of the editorial, original research and statistical data has helped position the Insider magazines as an unrivalled source of regional business information.
Unrivalled information. The quality of the editorial, original research and statistical data has helped position the Insider magazines as an unrivalled source of regional business information.
Production details for our Insider magazines, including advertisement sizes, file formats and mechanical and copy details.
The ABC audit verifies paid-for subscriptions, controlled free, combined paid-for and controlled, newstand and bulk circulation.
