This new report from IPPR North, marking 10 years since their launch, highlights the most important trends in the north of England over the last decade.

Looking at economic growth and productivity, investment, public services and welfare, housing, demographics and political attitudes, it gives an overview of the North’s successes, challenges and future prospects.

While the north of England continues to face a number of challenges, there are also reasons for optimism. Whilst some of the challenges faced by the North have been deepened by recession and spending cuts, there is a strong sense they can be overcome if the right approaches to policy and subnational governance are adopted.

It is also proposed that annual State of the North reports are produced over the next decade. These will reflect less on longer-term trends and more on the changes and challenges happening on a yearly basis, and continue to present analysis and policy proposals driven by an evidence base.

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Meanwhile, concern with a range of other issues has risen. The proportion of voters who mention unemployment as one of the most important issues facing the country has risen from 21% in June 2010 to 32% in May 2014, while the proportion who cite issues surrounding the NHS has risen from 19% to 27% over the same time period. Concern with race relations and immigration has also increased, though not by as great a margin as might be expected: the proportion of voters mentioning the issue as a concern stood at 29% in June 2010, and has now risen to 34%.

This declining level of concern with the economy and equivalent increase with regard to other issues can be seen across almost all UK regions. Concern with the economy has fallen by more than twenty-five percentage points in all regions except Greater London, bringing the proportions of voters expressing concern about the issue to a more geographically uniform level. Concern with unemployment has risen across all regions, while the proportion of voters who mentioned issues surrounding the NHS has risen in all areas except Scotland. However, the issue of immigration presents a less uniform picture. While the proportion of voters to mention the issue has risen in southern England and in the Midlands, the inverse is true in Scotland, Northern England and Greater London. Detailed figures regarding these changes can be seen in the tables below.

For further information, please see the Ipsos MORI releases on the Issues Index results for May 2014 and June 2010, and the Ipsos MORI Issues Index archive.

Photo credit: English Money by Images Money.

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