What does the future hold for the North East region?

Professor Ray Hudson has delved into this in his new book - The Political Economy of Uneven and Combined Development: The Case of North East England. We caught up with him to find out more.

You talk in your book about uneven development. How has that affected the North East region over the years?

First, the changing relationship of the North East to the wider global economy. It has changed from a core ‘workshop of the world’ to a deindustrialised periphery as the economy has been restructured and transformed over the last century.

Second, as new industries emerged and grew, new settlements developed around them to provide housing for their workers. Many of these people were migrants from other parts of the UK, moving in search of work. Flows of people and materials between industries and places in the region also increased.

You describe the North East region as somewhere that became a laboratory experiment in largely failed government policies to reverse economic decline. Can you give an example of one of these policies and how that still affects people today?

In the 1920s and 1930s, in response to the years of recessions then depression, local organisations had an important role in persuading central government to create regional policies to encourage new industry to locate in the North East.

These policies evolved during the decades that followed and seemed to work initially, but globalisation led to factory closures as production moved abroad to lower-cost locations.

How important are the North East’s five universities for the economic development of the region?

Certainly, historically Durham University had an important role in supporting innovation in the industrial economy. For example, along with the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Durham was instrumental in the creation of Armstrong College in 1871, now part of Newcastle University.

More recently, partly in response to the ineffectiveness of government regional policies, there has been increasing emphasis on universities as sources of knowledge to support new firms emerging in the region. However, so far at least, such policies have had at best limited success.

You have been researching the regional economy for over 50 years. What opportunities do you see for the North East going forward?

Unfortunately, I think that the future prospects for the economy in the North East are not encouraging. Unless there is a sharp reversal of recent trends, the future for many in the region will continue to be blighted by a shortage of jobs, especially well-paid full-time jobs in both manufacturing and services.

While there is considerable emphasis on a ‘green transition’ in the economy as providing a way forward, it is difficult to see how this could be achieved in the region.

What’s next for you in terms of your research?

At this point in time, I’m not sure as there are a number of issues that I’d like to investigate further. 

However, I’m interested in how the global competition for rare earths and other minerals – vital for green tech and warfare - impact differently on people, places and natural environments.

Find out more

Ray Hudson is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Geography and a Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing. His book is published with Routledge.