A report published in November 2016, by
the ‘Centre for Research on
Socio-Cultural Change’ (CRESC), based at the
University of Manchester, outlines Manchester’s transformation over 25-years
and shows how councillors and officers working with property developers,
transformed Manchester City and Salford.
The report says that what has been built,
is a parallel new town in Manchester City, of office blocks and adjacent one
and two bedroom flats, occupied by a 25 to 34-year-old in-migrant workforce,
that lives, works and plays, within the city centre. Of this in-migrant
workforce, 34% were born outside the UK and Ireland and 24% from outside Europe.
The report says that many work in junior white-collar occupations, linked to
local government, health, education, or the private sector. Alternatively, they
work in retail, restaurants, or hotels, which employ 25% of the workforce. The
report asserts that this has led to ‘exclusive’ growth and inequalities – “Dubai on Deansgate”, that has not
spilled over into other areas of Greater Manchester.
Other areas within Greater Manchester,
are described has being economically ‘dire’
and characterised by low-wages and precarious employment. These areas, the
report says, have never fully recovered from the ‘de-industrialisation’ of the
1980’s. The report states:
“The
plight of Bolton, Rochdale, Stockport, and Tameside, is dire, because from
2008-14 they have lost both private and public sector jobs and, in a period of
austerity cuts in public expenditure, some boroughs are now losing private
sector jobs faster than they are losing public sector jobs.”
Seemingly, only Manchester City and
Trafford have shown significant increases in job numbers, while four of the ten
boroughs of Greater Manchester saw net job losses. In addition, 21% of Greater
Manchester’s neighbourhoods are in the top 10% most deprived in England and
Manchester City, has 41% of Greater Manchester’s neighbourhoods in this
category.
The report points out that central
Manchester is not like central London, which relies on radial commuting by
public transport from outer boroughs – “Long
distance commuting is discouraged because Manchester city region combines
relatively cheap central flats and inner residential suburbs with low wages and
high fares… Most commuting into Manchester City is by car.”
The people who live within Greater
Manchester are heavily dependent on public sector jobs. The public sector accounted
for more than half of the 46,000 extra jobs created in ten Greater Manchester
boroughs between 1998-2008. Manufacturing employs less than 4% of the
Manchester City workforce but still accounts for 10% of employment in northern
boroughs. Out of total Greater Manchester employment of 1,197k, 447k or 37.3%,
are employed in “mundane”, activities.
Manchester’s public and state-supported sector, now employs more than 35% of
the workforce in a city heavily dependent on health and education spending. The
report argues that the Greater Manchester private sector economy, has a very
limited capacity to generate good jobs which pay high wages.
It has been argued by some social pundits
that Manchester’s growing inequality, is a good thing because like London, it is
proof that it has managed to create well-paying jobs for at least a minority of
its population, whereas, in other areas, they may be more equal, but this is
because everyone is poor.
The report rejects this and says that
what is needed is not ‘exclusive’ growth, but ‘inclusive’ economic growth, that
spills-over into other areas of Greater Manchester and provides people with
real opportunities. What is needed, in the view of the authors, is a move away
from property development as the accelerator of urban growth, which has only
benefitted the city, towards “welfare-critical
basic goods and services” for the whole population – “affordable transport, accessible broadband, and social housing – 80,000
people are on the housing waiting lists of the ten GM boroughs – that would take precedence over
ostentatious tower blocks.”
The report also says that there ought to
be investment in the foundational economy – food distribution and processing,
education and health, adult care, pipe and cable utilities and public transport,
leading to low-fare public transport, for all Greater Manchester residents. It
is also argued that the 185,000 businesses in Greater Manchester should be made
to pay decently (the living wage) and to employ and train local workers, as
their businesses, draw revenue from Greater Manchester.
The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework
(GMSF), will lead to the new town in Manchester City, doubling in size from
2015 to 2035. Alongside this, there will be large edge of city housing
developments and warehouse parks off the orbital M60. A quarter of housing, is
earmarked to be built on green belt sites. The term “social housing”, does not appear anywhere in the GMSF draft.
The authors of this report, argue that
the political elite of Greater Manchester, ought to learn lessons from the
Brexit vote which revealed an increasingly disgruntled electorate that are
asking local, regional, and national politicians, “What have you done for us!” They also warn that Brexit, increases
the likelihood of “capital flight, currency
depreciation, a rise in interest rates, and a slump in house prices and in
construction activity”, which could lead to a property bubble crash in
and across Greater Manchester.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment