Action needed to improve growth of UK towns and cities

Warrington, Bristol, Barnsley and Brighton buck the national trend of slow growth in living standards since 2013

Top-performing cities and towns experienced economic growth of 27% in the decade to 2023 compared to 18% nationally, new research suggests.

Had all 63 of the UK’s largest cities and towns experienced the same rate of disposable income growth as top performers since 2013, their residents – over half of the UK population – would have pocketed an extra £3,200 on average, according to the study.

Centre for Cities said its research showed that places including Warrington, Bristol, Barnsley and Brighton bucked the national trend of slow growth in living standards since 2013, when the UK economy started recovering from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Their performance proved that the Government’s economic growth milestone relies on achieving faster living standards growth in the UK’s urban economies.

Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “It is understandable that the Government has shifted its emphasis on to the cost of living in recent weeks but ultimately it is stronger economic growth that raises household incomes. Without growth, cost-of-living fixes can only ever be temporary.

“Nationally, the last decade has delivered the same amount of growth in living standards as we typically experienced in a single year prior to 2008.

“In places like Warrington and Barnsley, economic growth has translated into higher household incomes and less deprivation. That isn’t accidental, it is shaped by policy choices on skills, transport housing, and support for businesses.

“The Government’s planning reforms, devolution agenda and Industrial Strategy are crucial for supporting growth in cities and delivering better living standards year after year.

“As the Prime Minister has said, 2026 needs to be the year that ‘politics shows it can help again’. The test, at the end of this year, will be whether we are seeing more jobs, higher wages and stronger local growth in more places across the country.”

Published: 26/01/2026 by Radio NewsHub