Developing England's North: The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse

Developing England's North: The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse.

Edited by Craig Berry and Arianna Giovannini.

This book, which was put together by Craig Berry (from the University of Sheffield) and Arianna Giovannini (from De Montfort University) is a collection of essays focused on the key political and economic issues around the Northern Powerhouse.

Before going into further detail, I would like to start by advising students and those interested in the Northern Powerhouse and the North/South divide to have this book. As it is a collection of essays from some of the leading researchers in this area, it can serve as an easy reference tool for those looking to explore the issues within the Northern Powerhouse agenda. In fact, that is probably the best way to use this book. Read cover to cover as I did, certain points end up being repeated, as each essay begins by giving background to the Northern Powerhouse. Of course given that this is a collection of essays, this is to be expected. However if used as a reference tool, with the researcher accessing relevant essays when needed, these introductions will be useful and help put each essay into its own unique context. Therefore I would recommend researchers and students use this book in that format, the exception being those that want a whole introduction to the issues of the Northern Powerhouse, read cover to cover, this book is an exceptionally good starting point.

The book begins with an introduction written by Berry and Giovannini, which sets the scene of the issues the book will discuss, primarily economically and politically. Following this the book is separated into three key sections, each section dealing with a slightly different area of the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Section one is focused on economic issues, and features essays written by Craig Berry, Ron Martin, Ben Gardiner, Simon Lee, Kieron Flannagan and James Wilsdon. 

This section of the book is an excellent guide to some of the key economic issues in the north. The section begins with an essay which almost sets the scene, from Ron Martin and Ben Gardiner. Following this issues around manufacturing are explored by Craig Berry, the role of the treasury by Simon Lee and a spatially-focused discussion of science and innovation and its potential role in the Northern Powerhouse Initiative is explored by Kieron Flannagan and James Wilsdon.

For me personally, Ron Martins' section was the most relevant to my research, as I attempt to set up the theoretical foundations of my PhD research. With that in mind, the rest of these sections were also particularly interesting and well-written, and will no doubt be revisited as my research goes on.

Section two is an exploration of the significance of place in the Northern Powerhouse initiative, and focuses on governance as a key issue. This section has essays written by Nick Gray, Lee Pugalis, Danny Dickson, Arianna Giovannini, Georgina Blakeley, Brendan Evans, Daryl Martin, Alex Schafran and Zac Taylor.

The first essay in this section by Gray, Pugalis and Dickson goes in depth into the Local Growth Agenda and the architects of the Northern Powerhouse's fascination with theories of agglomeration from the school of New Economic Geography. Following this, Giovannini discusses the complicated situation in Yorkshire, as devolution deals have been struck in rather odd fashions, leaving some cities and regions almost excluded in the process. As a former student of Arianna's, this chapter was more of a refresher than anything else for me. Next Blakeley and Evans discuss Greater Manchester and question whether Manchesters dominance over the early Northern Powerhouse was the correct approach for George Osborne to take, as early discussions had Osborne hailing Manchester as the Norths answer to London. Finally Martin, Schafran and Taylor place the devolution agenda in a historical context, giving a history of the devolution agenda in England and this serves to help the reader understand how the North got to where it now is.

The discussion by Gray, Pugalis and Dickson was the most relevant to me this time, giving extra detail on the Local Growth Agenda and the impact of New Urban Geography on the UK's regional growth strategy. As with section one, I anticipate I will be revisiting a few if not all of these chapters though.

Section three of the book focuses on austerity and inequality in the context of the Northern Powerhouse. This section features essays written by David Beel, Martin Jones, Ian Rees Jones, Kevin Muldoon-Smith, Paul Greenhalgh and Daniel Bailey.

The first chapter of this section by Beel, Jones and Rees Jones uses case studies of Manchester and Sheffield to discuss regionalisation and the concept of the civil society in the context of austerity. Next Muldoon-Smith and Greenhalgh discuss financialisation and the financing of the Northern Powerhouse initiative. Finally Bailey discusses the tax system and how it may exacerbate the problem of uneven economic development in the North as regions race to the bottom to give businesses the best possible tax deals, ultimately costing the taxpayers above all.

This section's essay by Bailey was of the most interest to me this time, as understanding the potential damage of regions competing to offer businesses the lowest taxes was something I needed to improve my knowledge on.

The book concludes with a chapter written by Giovannini and Berry. The conclusion acknowledges that the essays in this book have highlighted numerous problems with the Northern Powerhouse initiative, however ends on a positive note. The progress of de-development is not set in stone, and Berry and Giovannini encourage regional and local leaders to overcome political tribalism and work together to create a truly inclusive devolution initiative, which is inclusive politically, economically, socially and environmentally.