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'Move to London'says 'Tory' report
PEOPLE in West Yorkshire should be encouraged to move to London because Leeds is failing to deliver prosperity to the region, a highly controversial report says today.
The report by Policy Exchange, the Conservative's Party favourite think tank, called for a mass north-south migration.
It called for ministers to be "realistic" about the ability of Leeds to boost the fortunes of "struggling nearby towns", such as Bradford.
It said people in some northern towns and cities face a "simple" and "bleak" choice – either move to the "economic powerhouse" of London and the South East or suffer unemployment or lower wages.
The report is significant because Policy Exchange wields huge influence over the future Tory Party policy.
Many senior members of David Cameron's inner circle have previously written policy pamphlets for the think tank.
The report was condemned by the government and savaged by Labour MPs.
Leeds West MP John Battle said: "David Cameron's favourite think tank has arrogantly written off whole swathes of the country with this offensive report.
"Instead of dreaming up ideas in London David Cameron's ignorant chums at Policy Exchange should let me show them round Leeds – the city with the fastest growing economy in the country."
But the report's authors, Tim Leunig, from the London School of Economics, and James Swaffield, from Policy Exchange, insisted they are delivering a "brutal" but "honest" message to the north.
Mr Leunig said: "The issue is clear: current regeneration policies are failing the very people they are supposed to be helping and there is no evidence that the trend will be reversed without radical changes.
"Internal migration has always been an important part of a dynamic economy."
Their report states that although Leeds is the "premier" city in its area, it is still not successful enough to spread its wealth to the rest of West Yorkshire – unlike London which spreads prosperity to poorer areas of North Kent and South Essex.
Unlike in London, high earners in Leeds are not forced by high house prices to relocate to the city's surrounding area and are also put off from doing so by poor transport links.
This again stops the city spreading its prosperity, the authors argue.
The report therefore recommended:
* Boosting the size of London by allowing landowners the right to convert industrial land into residential land.
* Allowing "significant numbers" of people to move to London from northern towns and cities
* Expanding Oxford and Cambridge dramatically - just as the northern cities expanded in the 19th century.
* Winding up all national regeneration schemes and simply hand the cash to local councils
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Friday 25 May 2012
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