Member News
By Lord Bates - 11th August 2009
Lord Bates outlines the positive socio-economic prospects of the North East and why the region should focus on "its immense power within".
The North East of England may be the smallest of the English regions but it scores highly in its contribution to the economic history of Britain and also the world. The Northumberland and Durham Coalfields, the shipyards of the Tyne & the Wear and the steel and chemicals of Teesside were all a powerhouse of the industrial revolution.
Great inventors such as Joseph Swan who invested the electric light bulb, George Stephenson the father of the modern railways, Sir William Armstrong the pioneer of hydraulic power and Charles Parsons the inventor of the steam turbine that revolutionised maritime transport made the North East a 'Silicon Valley' of its day for engineering and manufacturing.
How do we recreate that spirit of enterprise and creativity in a digital age? That was the question behind a debate which took place in the House of Lords in the week before recess and it generated some great insights and a high degree of cross-party agreement on both the problems and the way forward.
Newcastle University-based economist, Professor John Tomaney, has described the North East's problem as being that of a "state managed region", by which he argues that for the largest part of the past century the North East has had an over-reliance on the state for its economic prospects. First, there were wars which generated vast demands for ships, steel, munitions and, of course, armed forces. The North East contributed disproportionately to these endeavours. Then, when the traditional heavy industries declined, they were nationalised. Then when the nationalised industries disappeared, they were replaced with welfare dependency and public sector jobs.
According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the public sector now accounts for 57 per cent of the North East economy. In the past eight years, manufacturing jobs in the region declined by 58,000, while public sector jobs increased by 47,000. Now, with the public service budgets under immense pressure, this over-reliance will mean that the North East bears the brunt of rising unemployment again.
There is broad acceptance that if the future of the North East is to recapture the glories of its past then it must not put its faith in Whitehall, but in releasing the creative energy, capacity for hard work, and flexibility of its people on which that previous wealth was built. And there are signs that this is beginning to happen.
The North East is the only region in Britain which exports more than it imports. The performance is strengthened by the process industries in the Tees Valley - a third of all UK pharmaceuticals are manufactured in the North East. World-beating companies like Sage accounting software are drawing in highly skilled graduates to the region. The announcement by Nissan of Washington as the location for their new advanced battery plant adds to a region which is already at the forefront of new and renewable energy development.
The spirit of the North East was never better encapsulated than in the phrase "passionate people, passionate places", and the socio-economic prospects will be determined by the extent to which the region shifts its focus from external government dependence to releasing the immense power within.
Lord Bates is deputy chairman of the Conservative Party (North). He was born and lives in the County of Durham and serves as a shadow minister for Communities and Local Government and the Cabinet Office. Between 1992 and 1997, he was elected MP for Langbaurgh (now South Middlesbrough & East Cleveland) and held a number of ministerial appointments including Paymaster General and sponsor minister for the North East.
Article Comments
I presume the good Lord is confusing Britain with England. Scotland continually exports more than it imports and has done so continuoulsy for the best part of a century. The fact that a considerable proportion of what it exports goes to England masks this to an extent
David McEwan Hill
11th Aug 2009 at 4:06 pm
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.