Mayor reacts to Cities Outlook 2026 analysis
In a decade that saw disposable incomes increase by only 2.4 per cent nationally, cities in the South West trailed the rest of the country, with its cities and towns averaging just 0.7 per cent real-terms living standards growth since 2013, Cities Outlook 2026 shows.
But 11 top-performing cities and towns in the UK – including Bristol – bucked the national trend of slow growth in living standards since 2013, when the UK economy started recovering from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Centre for Cities says these places’ performance shows that the Government’s economic growth milestone – ensuring economic growth is felt by everyone, everywhere by the end of this parliament – relies on achieving faster living standards growth in the UK’s urban economies.
As a group, the top-performing cities and towns experienced economic growth of 27 per cent between 2013 and 2023 – compared to 18.4 per cent nationally – and delivered total real-terms disposable income growth of 5.2 per cent.
Had all cities and towns in the South West experienced the same rate of real-terms disposable incomes growth as top performers like Bristol since 2013, residents would have pocketed an extra £3,900 per person on average in that period.
Places where real-terms living standards have declined have missed out on pocketing larger sums. In places such as Exeter and Swindon, modest economic growth failed to result in any rise in living standards. Real-terms disposable incomes in Exeter declined by 3 per cent since 2013, and residents would have pocketed an extra £8,800 over the decade if the city had matched top-performing places. For (relatively affluent) Swindon – where real-terms disposable incomes declined by 2.7 per cent since 2013 – the figure £9,600.
Centre for Cities identifies three key areas for delivering faster living standards growth:
- Strengthening local economies, with a focus on growing ‘cutting-edge’ industries.
- Giving households better access to the opportunities of growth, by encouraging more people into work, providing skills support, and improving transport links.
- Reducing constraints on housing and commercial space so growing places can reach their potential.
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, says:
“It is understandable that the Government has shifted its emphasis onto the cost of living in recent weeks, but ultimately it is stronger economic growth that raises household incomes. Without growth, cost-of-living fixes can only ever be temporary.
“Nationally, the last decade has delivered the same amount of growth in living standards as we typically experienced in a single year prior to 2008.
“In places like Warrington and Barnsley, economic growth has translated into higher household incomes and less deprivation. That isn’t accidental: it is shaped by policy choices on skills, transport, housing, and support for businesses.
“The Government's planning reforms, devolution agenda and Industrial Strategy are crucial for supporting growth in cities and delivering better living standards year after year. Cities need to support more jobs in the new economy – in sectors backed by the Industrial Strategy like life sciences, digital and AI. These jobs cluster in urban areas and generate benefits for those working in the ‘everyday economy’, too.
“As the Prime Minister has said, 2026 needs to be the year that ‘politics shows it can help again’. The test, at the end of this year, will be whether we are seeing more jobs, higher wages, and stronger local growth in more places across the country.”
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“Cities Outlook will help shape the future of places like Bristol and Bath. Transport is rightly highlighted as key to growth, and better connecting residents and businesses is crucial to enhancing people’s quality of life and further improving economic productivity. In the West, that will mean better buses, more trains and stations, and mass transit plans.”
“For the West of England, home to the strongest recent economic growth of any region and an ambitious ten-year Growth Strategy, this Centre for Cities report comes at an important time. With more decisions set to be made in the West Country rather than Westminster, our long-term economic development and investment must be guided by evidence like this to ensure that we can all see and feel the difference.”
Centre for Cities is the independent think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK's largest cities and towns. It is a charity that works with local authorities, business and Whitehall to develop and implement policy that supports the performance of urban economies through impartial research and knowledge exchange.
The full report can be viewed on the Centre for Cities website.
