Four charts that show the ‘north-south divide’ – but also reveal a more complicated task for Burnham

FFor decades many in Britain have decried the north-south divide, claiming that too many decisions were made at Westminster and too much money was invested in London and the south-east.

And the numbers generally support their claim.

People living in the south of Birmingham generally live longer than their northern counterparts, the proportion of working age people in employment is also higher, and disposable household income is almost twice as high in London and Birmingham.

Devolution under previous governments made a difference, Groups like Center for Cities say. But the think tank now wants Labor leaders to go further, saying 95 per cent of tax revenue still goes directly to central government in Whitehall.

So when Andy Burnham, who is likely to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next month, announced on Monday his plan for a “restructured Britain” through devolution led by a Manchester-based “No 10 North”, northern leaders were quick to show their support.

“Imagine good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart,” the “King in the North” said not once but twice, as he promised a radical transfer of power from Westminster to the nations and territories of the United Kingdom, ensuring equal living standards across the country.

So what is the north-south divide and is it as clear as suggested? Here, Independent It looks at disposable income, employment, education and life expectancy across regions to show the full picture.

1. Disposable household income

Unlike salary income, gross disposable household income (GDHI) is the amount of money people have to spend or save, and is an important metric in determining how wealthy people feel. GDHI grew by 9.5 per cent across the UK in 2023, but the figures show a clear regional divide.

The average GDHI per person in UK regions was £24,836, with London (£35,361), the South East (£28,187), the East of England (£25,732) and the South West (£24,854) ranking highest among the regions, while the North East (£19,977) was the lowest.

A similar picture is seen at the local level; The top 10 places for GDHI are all in London or the South East. The bottom 10 includes five in the West Midlands, two in Yorkshire and The Humber and one in the North West.

Six years ago Equality Foundation in the name The gap in disposable income is seen as “a damning indictment of the glaring inequalities between London and the rest of the country, north and south, rich and poor”.

However, a closer look at the regional distribution reveals that there are clear outliers.

In Solihull, just outside Birmingham, and in the West Midlands and North Yorkshire, disposable income per head (£26,815 and £26,697) is well above average.

Disposable income per head in Luton (£19,338) is well below average.

2. Employment rate

Another important measure of a region’s economic activity is the employment rate, which shows the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who are working.

The average across Great Britain is 75.1 per cent, but as with gross disposable income, there are strong differences between regions; the highest rate is in the East and South East of England (both 78.2 per cent) and the lowest rate is in the North East (71.1 per cent).

Looking at the north-south divide, the East, South East and South West of England (77.8 per cent) are in the top three with the highest rates, while London (74.2 per cent) is below the national average.

Looking at local areas, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham (65.9 per cent) have the fifth lowest rate, while Luton (69.4 per cent) has the 16th lowest rate. East Kent (70.2 per cent), Barnet (70.9 per cent) and Hackney and Newham (72.1 per cent) are also at the bottom of the table.

In the north, Chorley and West Lancashire (81.6 per cent) and Cheshire West and Cheshire (81.2 per cent) are well above the national average.

Why do cities like London have lower employment rates even though they are in the south and have better opportunities? on a piece of paper It was published A study conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies last year suggested that the quality of this institution’s education in major cities may have been low in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The article also found a “considerable penalty” for young people growing up in cities outside London; but found that many were still unable to access available opportunities.

3. Education

Last year the Institute for Government (IfG) warned that educational inequalities in England had “become wider and more pronounced” across the country and across various demographic groups since the Covid outbreak.

And the latest figures on the Key Stage 4 attainment rate – students passing English and Maths GCSE – reveal that the regional imbalance remains large. The rate is lowest in the Merseyside village of Knowsley (52.3 per cent), followed by Blackpool (55 per cent) and Middlesbrough (63.6 per cent).

At the other end of the spectrum are the affluent London boroughs of Kingston upon Thames (85.8%), Richmond upon Thames (85.1%) and Sutton (84.5%).

Last year South Devon Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden, who sits on the House of Commons education select committee, called on the government to go further by addressing funding inequalities across the country.

He said: “Frankly, it is scandalous that children across the country have been disappointed by successive governments’ focus on London and this needs to change. Our children deserve better.”

But local figures contain some outliers.

Trafford (83.6 per cent), Warrington (78.9 per cent) and York (77.8 per cent) in Greater Manchester were among the best performing areas, with the Isle of Wight (65.2 per cent) and Portsmouth (66.2 per cent) at the bottom of the list.

In his speech on Monday, Mr Burnham said his government would provide young people with a “clear path to a re-industrialised Britain” and be part of “a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed”.

4. Life expectancy

Often seen as a key indicator of standard of living, people’s life expectancy at birth has varied widely regionally in the UK for many years.

Last year, research from the Center for Better Aging found a clear north-south divide in life expectancy.

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Carole Easton OBE said: “Living in a part of the country where quality jobs and opportunities are scarce, where financial insecurity and poverty are common, deprives people of their health in later life and deprives them of years with loved ones. This is the real human cost of our deeply unequal society.”

He said urgent action was needed across government, society and communities “to get us back on the path to recovery”.

But a year on and figures from the Office for National Statistics still show a similar story.

While the average life expectancy between 2022 and 2024 is 79.2 for men and 83 for women, in the North East this rate is 77.7 for men and 81.6 for women. In the Southeast, a man is expected to reach 80.7 and a woman is expected to reach 84.4.

There is a similar picture at the local level; The 10 regions with the highest life expectancy for men and women are all in the south of England. However, in some areas of the south, life expectancy is below average; Gloucester (82.1) for women and Dover and Slough (77.2 and 77.9) for men.

Speaking after Mr Burnham’s speech, Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the spread of wealth was not just about the north, which he welcomed, but was also about benefiting other areas.

He said: “We should all want a more united country. The greater South East will enjoy greater freedom to raise the investment it needs, with less responsibility to subsidize other parts of the country over time as other regional economies strengthen.

“‘No.10 North’ will help ensure the relocation of civil servants to places such as Darlington, York and Manchester delivers to its full potential. These new government departments are helping to regenerate these places, but ministers have yet to leverage them effectively. A regular ministerial presence outside Whitehall will strengthen decision-making and bring the government closer to the communities it serves.”