Golden triangle of manufacturing needed to level up the North

A northern ‘golden triangle’ of manufacturing between Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester could help the North recover from the pandemic and level up the country, a former minister says.
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Richard Caborn said a ‘big piece of public policy architecture’ was needed to deliver a zone that would create jobs, boost GDP and benefit social mobility.

And it should be based on the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of Sheffield University, which has an international track record of research, development and inward investment.

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The southern ‘golden triangle’ is an unofficial grouping of universities in Cambridge, London and Oxford which is a magnet for hi-tech firms.

Richard Caborn.Richard Caborn.
Richard Caborn.

Mr Caborn, a former Labour MP and minister and former adviser to the AMRC, was speaking in a virtual conference hosted by shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds and organised by the Labour Party in Yorkshire and the Humber.

He said: “A big piece of public policy architecture should be put in place to create a golden triangle of manufacturing between Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. It would grow business activity, create wealth and level up.”

Manufacturing comprised just 11 per cent of UK GDP, half of that of Germany, he said.

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Productivity was 15 per cent below the G7 average and research and development spending was 1.7 per cent of GDP, half of Germany’s.

Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds.Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds.

He added: “You’ve got three factors all going in the wrong direction in terms of levelling up and helping manufacturing.”

The country also struggled with ‘technology readiness’ - taking ideas to market.

Germany’s Fraunhofer institutions spin out companies from ideas and were a partnership between academia, business and local authorities.

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“We don’t have those institutions. Much of our research money goes into universities. We need a step change. I think if the AMRC has done anything, bearing in mind it is not yet 20 years old, it has done research and development and inward investment.”

The AMRC, which has sites in Rotherham and Sheffield near Catcliffe, employs 700 and has attracted more than 100 firms including Rolls Royce, McLaren and Boeing.

It also has a training centre for 250 apprentices sponsored by local firms - ‘social mobility in action’, Mr Caborn said.

But Westminster was reluctant to relinquish power.

Ms Dodds said: “I agree to having that much more local control, so often it’s far more effective. It’s great to hear of the work of the AMRC.”

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