Daily Junction.mobi portalThis partly reflects the mayor's lower national profile and partly the city region's smaller economic scale (1.6 million people vs Greater Manchester's 2.8 million). But it also reflects the limitations of the metro mayor model—limited powers, no tax-raising ability, and dependence on central government funding.
More devolution, particularly fiscal devolution, would give the city region more control over its own destiny. But this requires central government to give up power, and there is little sign of that happening on a significant scale.
Liverpool's recovery offers lessons for other post-industrial cities:
Invest in strengths: Liverpool built on existing assets—the port, universities, cultural heritage. It did not try to become something it was not.
Diversify: The economy is no longer dependent on one or two sectors. Life sciences, digital, tourism, higher education, and the port all contribute.
Be patient: Recovery took decades, not years. There were setbacks and false starts. Persistence mattered.
Use external funding: European structural funds were crucial. Cities need to access whatever funding is available—national government, EU (when available), private investment.
Build coalitions: Local government, universities, businesses, and community groups worked together (not always harmoniously, but effectively enough). No single actor could have driven recovery alone.
Invest in place: Physical regeneration—the waterfront, Liverpool ONE, the Knowledge Quarter—created visible change and shifted perceptions. This attracted further investment.
These lessons are not a formula—every city is different. But they suggest that recovery is possible, even from deep decline, if there is investment, leadership, and time.
Liverpool's journey from "managed decline" to the fastest-growing economy in the North is a remarkable story. It shows that post-industrial cities can recover, diversify, and thrive if they have the right support and the right strategy.
But the recovery is incomplete. Productivity lags, deprivation remains acute in some areas, and Brexit has created new challenges. The city region needs continued investment in skills, infrastructure, and high-value sectors to sustain growth and close the gap with London and the South East.
The question is whether national government will provide that investment, or whether Liverpool will be left to manage on its own. The city has defied predictions of terminal decline once. Whether it can continue to do so depends on decisions made in Westminster as much as in Liverpool itself.