UK economy

• How has the UK economy changed?

  Primary decreased from 75% in 1800s to 2% today

  Secondary surged in the 1900s then returned to 15% today

  Thirtary has grown consistently to 78% today
• Deindustrialisation was a cause of economic change. This is due to:

  • machinery and technology replacing people
  • lack of investment
  • cheaper labour costs abroad
• Government policies influenced economic change

  • 1970s were a period of strikes and unrest, propping up declining equipment cost a lot for gov.
  • Thatcherism - Margaret Thatcher steers Britain to financial / thirtiary sector. state run industries sold to private shareholders due to privatisation.
• Globalisation - The process of increasing interdependence between countries and the spread of culture and technology.
• Three causes of UK economic change?

  Deindustrialisation, government policies, globalisation
• Impacts of deindustrialisation

  • derelict areas
  • unemployment rate increase
  • migration to cities for tertiary sector jobs
  • negative multiplier effect
  • EXAMPLE - Easington colliery closure (1993) left 1000 men unemployed. Still today the rate is way above average.
• A post industrial economy is the Reina cement of the secondary manufacturing sector with the tertiary service sector
• Post-Ind - Development of Information Technology (IT)

  • data storage and accessibility
  • fast communication and globalisation
  • advancements and forecasted 20-50million new jobs globally
  • In 2019, 775000 Britons in IT
  • Work from home
• Post-Ind - Service industry and finance

  • 81% of UK economic output (2019)
  • 1.1 employees in finance in UK
• Research sector - employs around 250k highly qualified people.

  • environment agency
  • charity
  • universities
  • pharmaceutical companies
  • ministry of defence
  • engineering
  • biotechnology
  • BBC
  • NHS
• business parks - A business park is a large area of land where many businesses are located.
• Cobalt Business Park - largest in UK

  • 300 events on park- community based
  • North East
• Science parks - Research and development facilities that support start up firms and established businesses to develop their products and services
• University of Southampton Science Park

  • 100 companies
  • £350million per annum
  • attractive location and 1hr10 from London
• The North East has the highest proportion of manufacturing jobs in the country at 17%. This compares with an average of 10% across England as a whole.
• Road improvements

  • In 2014 UK announced a £15 billion Road Investment Strategy 2015-20.
  • Secondary stage promised in 2020 for 2025, further investment of over £27billion
  • increasing Motorway capacities, resurfacing and levelling up Northern connections
  • South West A303 widening project - super highway
• Port Capacity

  • UK Ports Industry largest in Europe
  • In 2019 42million sea passengers in UK ports

  EXAMPLE?

  Liverpool2- newly constructed terminal, £400million. Doubled capacity to over 1.5million containers a year. Created 5000 jobs (NW economy)
• Railway Improvements

  • focused on North to simulate economic growth
  • Transpennine Route (Manchester, Leeds, York)
  • Midlands main line (London St Pancras to Sheffield + East Midlands)
  • Leeds to get £200mil to plan Tram transport
• Airport Capacity

  • annual turnover of over £60million, contributes £22B to UK GDP
  • 300mil passengers a year
  • links with 400 airports in 114 countries

  EXAMPLE?

  proposed Heathrow runway extension

  • £18.6 billion
  • boost regional economy by £61B
  • Rivers need to be diverted and roads moved with M25 reroute. Entire village of Longford remove.
• Sustainability for the Manufacturing Industry

  • desulphurisation - remove harmful gases from power station chimneys
  • stricter environmental targets / heavy fines
• Torrquarry, Somerset aims to be sustainable

  • 100+ employees, £15million to local economy
  • 80 hectares have been landscaped - Mendip Hills Living Landscape Partnership to create a bio diverse area
  • wildlife lake restoration for recreation
  • monitoring pollution
  • deepening quarry instead of widening
• In general, the south enjoys higher standards of living, longer life expectancy and higher incomes.
• What caused the North/South divide?

  Post-Industrial revolution, London and South East developed rapidly due to the fast growing financial sector.
• The North was important in the industrial revolution as it had coal, iron and cotton
• Addressing the North South divide

  • regional strategies
  • LEPs - local enterprise partnerships
  • enterprise zones
• Regional Strategies

  • financial support from UK government and EU
  • financial investment encouraged in north by having HQ in North e.g Siemens in Hull
  • Northern Powerhouse scheme and Rail project forecasted to boost economy by £14b per year by 2060
• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP)

  • identifies business needs in local areas and encourages businesses to invest
  • e.g BBC HQ in Salford Quays (which were derelict) media city 2011
• European Union - began as a trading group between north west European countries, now a political union with 28 member states. UK left in 2020
• How did the EU affect UK?

  • More immigrants in UK from poorer EU countries
  • Financial Support for Farmers (Single Payment Scheme) 2015 £18m to support dairy farmers
  • Structural and Investment funds to support disadvantaged regions
  • Goods, services and labour could move freely between states
• The Commonwealth - A group of former British colonies that have been granted independence.
• Area of population growth - South Cambridgeshire

  • high house prices
  • new buildings diminish community spirit
  • 80% car ownership causes traffic and pollution
  • commuter settlement, meaning local rural economy (Linton) suffers.
• Area of population decline - Outer Hebrides

  • school children numbers declining meaning schools may close and lost jobs
  • less people of working age leading to an aging population