This paper examines the ‘Manchester model’ of governance and economic development as a lens through which to understand the UK’s wider growth challenges and policy opportunities. It highlights how sustained institutional collaboration, devolved decision-making, and long-term strategic planning have underpinned Manchester’s relative economic success and positioned the city-region at the forefront of the UK’s devolution agenda.
The analysis situates this model within the broader context of the UK’s highly uneven economic geography, characterised by pronounced regional productivity inequalities, weak knowledge diffusion, and centralised financial and governance systems. It identifies three critical bottlenecks to balanced growth: limited access to investment capital outside London, insufficient diffusion of knowledge and innovation, and an inadequate, largely ad hoc land-use planning system.
Drawing on the Manchester experience, the paper argues for a more integrated approach to regional development, combining enhanced devolved governance with institutional reforms to finance, planning, and policy coordination. It concludes that scaling elements of the ‘Manchester model’ across the UK could help to address structural constraints, reduce regional disparities, and support more inclusive and sustainable national growth.
Authors Philip McCann, Raquel Ortega-Argilés