Regional policy-making in Conservative England (2010-2019): the role of institutional and political factors

这项研究旨在考察保守党英格兰在2010年至2019年期间制定和实施区域政策的政策过程。从历史上看，英国的地区政策一直与提高生产率水平始终低于平均水平的地区的经济产出的目标密切一致。然而，此类举措很少是以释放闲置产能为唯一目标的。随着较强和较弱地区之间的差距拉大，有人认为，这对英国国内的差异既有经济影响，也有社会影响，从就业前景到教育机会和健康结果。此外，这些差距在政治上具有重大意义，因为它们对选举格局产生了不可避免的影响。尽管在过去十年中，英国采取了各种地区性政策干预措施，但英国经济仍然持续依赖伦敦和东南部地区来推动增长，并提供财政盈余。在2019年英国大选中，保守党将“升级”作为其成功竞选的中心主题，因此具有讽刺意味地暗示了之前保守党部委未能充分解决这一问题。分析2010至2019年期间的区域政策如何未能解决经济中的系统性失衡问题是经过精心排练的；但为什么会这样，这一点要少得多。本研究旨在通过对制度和政治因素的研究，促进我们对这一时期区域政策在很大程度上无效的理解。在此期间，研究将集中于区域政策的三个关键方面：2011年创建和建立地方企业伙伴关系(LEP)；2014年启动“北方经济中心”；以及2016年以特雷莎·梅的“产业战略”为特征的区域政策的转变。该项目本质上是跨学科的，借鉴了经济分析、历史方法和政治学。考虑到研究的空间背景，它的意义也从根本上讲是地理上的。研究方法将是混合方法。它将主要应用定性方法，但也将使用定量研究方法。这项研究之所以重要，原因有很多。首先，它将为理解一系列体制因素和政治行为者如何影响区域政策提供重要分析。调查结果的相关性将超出所审议的时期。它将阐明中央政府如何受到影响，以及在制定和协调地区政策干预时受到什么影响。鉴于在冠状病毒大流行期间，该国国内日益扩大的经济和社会差距，这一点特别切合实际。有鉴于此，未来十年可能会有进一步的区域干预和产业战略。因此，这项研究的意义将是重大的。其次，对2010-19年间区域政策干预的分析、《北方经济中心》和《产业战略》倾向于将重点放在经济缺陷上，而不是对政策失败的原因进行历史分析。这项研究将以选举和意识形态的形式，为机构和政党的政治压力的作用带来新的理解，并解释为什么地区干预未能扭转经济差距扩大的趋势。第三，白皮书将延续对政治任命的特别顾问在经济政策制定过程中的作用的历史思考，主要通过关注卡梅伦上任期间的鲁珀特·哈里森和梅上任期间的尼克·蒂莫西。除了对一系列学术领域(公共政策、政治史、经济学、地理学)感兴趣外，这项研究还将对从业人员和政策制定者，特别是地方政府和中央政府有用。

This research sets out to examine the policy process of developing and implementing regional policies in Conservative England between 2010 and 2019. Historically, regional policy in the UK has been closely aligned with the objective of boosting economic output in areas with consistently sub-average levels of productivity. However, such initiatives are rarely undertaken with the sole objective of unlocking spare capacity. As the distance widens between stronger and weaker geographies, it is argued this has both economic and social implications for disparities within the UK, ranging from job prospects to educational opportunity and health outcomes. Moreover, these disparities are politically significant due to their inevitable effect on the electoral landscape. Despite a variety of regional policy interventions during the decade, Britain's economy remains persistently reliant on London and the South East driving growth and providing a fiscal surplus. In the 2019 British General Election, the Conservative party made 'levelling-up' a central theme of their successful campaign, thereby ironically alluding to the failure of previous Conservative ministries to adequately address the issue.Analysis of how regional policies between 2010 and 2019 have failed to address systemic imbalances in the economy are well rehearsed; but far less so, why this is the case. This research aims to advance our understanding on why regional policy was largely ineffective during this period by studying institutional and political factors. The research will focus on three key aspects of regional policy during the period: the creation and establishment of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in 2011; the launch of the 'Northern Powerhouse' in 2014; and the shift in regional policy characterised by the 'Industrial Strategy' under Theresa May in 2016. The project is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on economic analysis, historical method and political science. Given the spatial context of the research, it is also fundamentally geographical in its significance. The research approach will be mixed-method. It will primarily apply qualitative methods but will also use quantitative research methods.This research is important for a number of reasons. First, it will provide important analysis on understanding how a range of institutional factors and political actors affect regional policy. The relevance of findings will extend beyond merely the period considered. It will shed light on how central Government is influenced, and by what, when both formulating and co-ordinating regional policy interventions. This is particularly pertinent given widening economic and social disparity within the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Further regional interventions and industrial strategies are likely in the coming decade in light of this. The implications from this research will therefore be significant. Second, analysis of regional policy interventions between 2010-19, the Northern Powerhouse and Industrial Strategy have tended to focus on economic shortcomings ahead of historical analysis exploring the reasons for policy failure. This research will bring new understanding to the role of institutions and party political pressures, in the form of elections and ideologies, on why regional interventions have failed to revert the trend of widening economic disparity. Third, the paper will extend historical thinking on the role of politically appointed special advisors in the formulation of economic policy, chiefly by focussing on Rupert Harrison during Cameron's first ministry, and Nick Timothy during May's first ministry. In addition to being of interest for a range of academic fields (Public Policy, Political History, Economics, Geography), this research will be of use to practitioners and policy-makers, particular LEPs and central Government.