The blog was recently looking over this Grant Thornton Report from 2014. There is plenty of very useful and interesting data but the “Growth Corridors” chart on page 7 and the High Growth Index (page 9) are interesting in the current economic climate.
Of the 9 “Growth Corridors” identified, 6 are connected to London. Of the three other “regional” corridors by far the most dominant is the Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds corridor.
All fairly obvious stuff you may say, but nevertheless a very graphic underpinning of the Northern Powerhouse strategy. That Manchester leads the High Growth Index for English cites (excluding London) and is the highest placed Local Authority outside London also emphasises Manchester’s role at the centre of the hoped-for success of that strategy.