david_chisnall on Nostr: npub1g0tuf…3tvm4 If a UK government is really serious about levelling up, I'd ...
npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 (npub1g0t…tvm4) If a UK government is really serious about levelling up, I'd suggest two policies:
The first is cheap. End the war on remote work. Give civil service departments targets and companies tax incentives to hive people that work from poorer parts of the country. End 'London Weighting', which just feeds inflation in the capital. Make it illegal to pay people different amounts for where they work unless you have a legitimate business need for them to be in a specific location.
When I lived in Swansea, I primarily worked for companies outside the UK and so 100% of my income was a net contribution to the UK economy and a large part was a net contribution to the local economy because it was spent locally. Get people earning £100+K and who have no need to be in a physical office out London.
Second, and this is more expensive, invest in proper public transport. The biggest missed opportunity in HS2 was that it didn't come with a well-connected airport that was reachable by high-speed rail from most of the country. Again, when I lived in Swansea, flying from Bristol, Manchester, or London were approximately as convenient, but London was always a lot cheaper. Why is it cheaper to fly to the USA from the south-east of England than from anywhere on the West (for those bad at Geography, the US is to the west of the UK, and the shortest path on the surface of a sphere typically involves flying north for most US destinations). This also increases emissions. I would take a train a couple of hundred miles and then get on a plane that flew almost over where I started.
Anyone starting a business that expects to export needs to consider how easy it is to travel to reach international customers. That's much easier from London because of the massive (direct and indirect) subsidies that London airports receive (and because the channel tunnel trains don't go any further than London). At the same time, people in London are protesting against Heathrow expansion. Move the subsidy elsewhere and everyone's happy.
The first is cheap. End the war on remote work. Give civil service departments targets and companies tax incentives to hive people that work from poorer parts of the country. End 'London Weighting', which just feeds inflation in the capital. Make it illegal to pay people different amounts for where they work unless you have a legitimate business need for them to be in a specific location.
When I lived in Swansea, I primarily worked for companies outside the UK and so 100% of my income was a net contribution to the UK economy and a large part was a net contribution to the local economy because it was spent locally. Get people earning £100+K and who have no need to be in a physical office out London.
Second, and this is more expensive, invest in proper public transport. The biggest missed opportunity in HS2 was that it didn't come with a well-connected airport that was reachable by high-speed rail from most of the country. Again, when I lived in Swansea, flying from Bristol, Manchester, or London were approximately as convenient, but London was always a lot cheaper. Why is it cheaper to fly to the USA from the south-east of England than from anywhere on the West (for those bad at Geography, the US is to the west of the UK, and the shortest path on the surface of a sphere typically involves flying north for most US destinations). This also increases emissions. I would take a train a couple of hundred miles and then get on a plane that flew almost over where I started.
Anyone starting a business that expects to export needs to consider how easy it is to travel to reach international customers. That's much easier from London because of the massive (direct and indirect) subsidies that London airports receive (and because the channel tunnel trains don't go any further than London). At the same time, people in London are protesting against Heathrow expansion. Move the subsidy elsewhere and everyone's happy.