UK cities to fare unevenly on emerging from the recession

Some cities in the UK will take years to recover from the recession, a think-tank called Centre for Cities, says.

Cities such as Cambridge and Edinburgh, with highly educated populations, are well-placed for recovery, but some cities, such as Burnley, Stoke-on-Trent and Newport will suffer because people have less qualifications and fewer businesses are stating up there, the report said.

The think-tank claimed that the gap between the top and bottom of the economic rankings has grown during the recession.

Cambridge had the lowest percentage of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance, and Hull had the highest, and the gap between the two has nearly doubled.

According to the study, locations with already robust economies were likely to get stronger, and areas with weak private sectors and poor graduate skills would sink further behind.

"The turnaround of our largest cities will be critical to the national recovery," the report said. "Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh have the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed.

"They have strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship, highly educated workforces and large shares of knowledge-intensive jobs."

Chief executive of Centre for Cities, Dermot Finch, said: "The next government needs to help these struggling cities fix the basics - like improving schools and public transport - so they can attract new business and jobs."