London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

UK left with 'branch line economy' after years of neglect in left-behind parts of country

UK left with 'branch line economy' after years of neglect in left-behind parts of country

In a speech to the business organisation's annual conference - days after northern rail plans were scaled back - CBI director-general Tony Danker argues that the government must play its part in trying to "make places better".

The UK "feels like a branch line economy" in many areas after years of neglect in left-behind parts of the country, according to the head of the CBI.

Tony Danker argues that the successful delivery of the government's "levelling up" agenda will be determined by whether it delivers economic growth in every part of the UK.

Mr Danker will make the remarks days after the government was accused of going back on promises of regional rail investment as HS2 was scaled back and a new Manchester-Leeds line abandoned.

CBI director-general Tony Danker argues Britain must become 'an economy of many hubs'


The CBI director-general will say in a speech to kick off the business organisation's annual conference that it "wholeheartedly" backs the "levelling up agenda".

He added: "Simply saying the market will fix this is not good enough.

"I don't know a country in the world - including, and indeed especially, the United States - where governments aren't active in economic geography."

Mr Danker argued that while it is businesses rather than government that create jobs and wealth, governments must also play their part to try to "make places better".

He said: "What the UK needs to level up is economic growth in every place.

"Growth that in turn provides better paid jobs, skilled work, firm-level success and creates the kind of virtuous circle that helps a place to prosper.

"The truth is that the UK suffered from de-industrialisation.

"Since the 1980s, we let old industries die - offering little more than benign neglect for what got left behind - it was an economic policy that was ambivalent about levelling down.

"Too relaxed about a brain drain as young people leave home to chase better paid jobs."

Mr Danker highlighted the disparities in wages between north and south and the location of multinational corporations in the South East while left-behind areas were left with shuttered high streets and "loss of pride in place".

"The truth is that in too many sectors, the UK now feels like a branch line economy," he added.

Mr Danker characterised this as a situation where head offices were too often based in London with "the branch managers and the back-office based everywhere else".

"Instead of a branch-line economy - what we want is an economy of many hubs," he said.

"That means using all parts of the country to their full potential."

Mr Danker said the country had spent the last decades living with the consequences of the neglect that he described but that nascent industries such as biotech, space and cybersecurity as well as the "new industrial revolution" created by net zero gave a "shot at redemption".

The speech comes in the context of widespread criticism of the government's rail plan for the Midlands and the North, announced last week.

Lord Jim O'Neill, vice chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, told Sky News that ministers had managed to disappoint "virtually everybody" with the plan.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×