England’s non-metropolitan cities: The long march to unlocking economic growth

Abstract

Changes since 2010 in England’s sub-national policy context and institutional architecture for local economic growth are unlikely to impact positively on the growth prospects of England’s non-metropolitan mid-size cities. This article provides a practice-based analysis of challenges and issues facing mid-size cities in England in general and of those with strong growth performance and potential in particular. Drawing on applied research that has been used to advise a number of rapidly growing mid-size cities in the Greater South East, the article suggests that government reforms may seriously retard growth in some of the highest potential growth cities in England. It is recommended that spending the period to the 2015 national election building strong local leadership teams and collaborating on policy and practice with ‘like-minded’ cities offers sensible steps for non-metropolitan cities to help position themselves with a future government on their ‘long march to unlocking economic growth’.