Incomes for city's residents lag behind rest of UK

People in Stoke-on-Trent would have each got £5,500 more over a decade, if disposable incomes had grown as fast in the city as in top-performing areas of the UK, a think tank has revealed.

Its "relatively modest" economic growth did not lead to living standards improving from 2013 to 2023, as disposable incomes in real terms there fell by 0.2%, Centre for Cities (CFC) said.

Living standards in West Midlands cities and towns grew at half the UK average rate, rising by 1.2% compared to 2.4% overall and 5.2% in 11 top locations.

The rise in total disposable income for Birmingham, 2.5%, and Telford in Shropshire, 1.8%, was higher than the West Midlands average of 1.2%, but Coventry's was 0.5%.

Stoke-on-Trent had a larger figure than Coventry in another respect - the growth in GVA, which measures income generated by businesses, in the Potteries city was 18.8% compared to 12.2% in Coventry.

CFC, an independent think tank "dedicated to improving the economies of the UK's largest cities and towns", said planning reform, devolution and industrial strategy were key to delivering the economic growth needed to improve living standards.

The leading places in terms of increases in total disposable income were Brighton, with 8.1%, Worthing, London, Barnsley and Warrington.

Had cities and towns in the West Midlands experienced the same rate of growth in disposable income in real terms as top performers, residents would have pocketed £3,500 more per person on average.

The Stoke-on-Trent figure of £5,500 that residents missed out on was the highest in the West Midlands, with Coventry second on £4,900, which was described by the researchers as the cumulative extra disposable income per resident if Coventry "matched average growth of cities achieving 'greater prosperity'".

Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton said cities like his "must be at the very heart of the drive for economic growth, if we are going to lift UK standards of living, tackle poverty and create jobs for our growing populations".

Birmingham was "one of the most investable cities, with some of the biggest opportunities in the country", he added.

Centre for Cities said it identified key areas for delivering faster living standards growth, including giving households "better access to the opportunities of growth, by encouraging more people into work, providing skills support, and improving transport links".

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