Closing England's north-south divide requires redistribution and regional policy, not devolution alone
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/editorial. "The Guardian view on England’s north-south divide: Burnham must deliver more than devolution | Editorial | The Guardian." October 22, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The Guardian says northern England has fallen far behind the south in how long people live, largely because of lost industry, austerity, and power being concentrated in London. Handing the north more control isn't enough if it doesn't get more money, so the government must redistribute resources and rebuild regional economic policy. And just attracting investment isn't enough either, because wealth has to turn into decent homes, services, and longer lives.
Conclusion
To close England's deadly north-south inequalities, Andy Burnham's government must go beyond devolution and deliver redistribution of resources to deprived areas, together with stronger regional economic policy that ensures the wealth created translates into good lives for ordinary people.
Premises
- A new Lancet study shows the mortality gap for northern adults aged 25 to 49 grew from 13% above the south in 1981 to 42% in 2024, and under-75 mortality in the north is 26% higher.
- This divergence stems from deindustrialisation, austerity, and the concentration of economic power in London, which weakened jobs, housing affordability, and public services in the north.
- Giving poorer areas more control over inadequate budgets does not increase the money they can spend, and letting mayors retain local taxes without a needs-based allocation could simply preserve existing disparities.
- Closing the gap therefore requires redistribution: help for poorer households with essential costs and more resources for deprived areas, such as early years education and council budgets.
- Regional policy is a complementary tool, but the UK now has a weaker set of regional development tools than at any point since the mid-twentieth century, and this trend must be reversed.
- Economic growth alone does not guarantee healthy or equal communities, as Victorian Manchester showed with great wealth coexisting with unhealthy slums, so the quality of life that prosperity delivers matters as much as where wealth is created.
Assumptions
- The north-south mortality gap is substantially caused by economic and policy factors rather than by demographic, behavioural, or other non-policy factors.
- Government redistribution can effectively reduce health inequalities through spending on social conditions.
- Devolution without fiscal equalisation is insufficient, since local budgets are currently inadequate relative to need.
- The Victorian Manchester example is a relevant analogy for contemporary growth-led regional policy.
- Burnham, as prime minister, has the political capacity and willingness to enact redistributive policy.