No university north of Birmingham was given funds from the Global Talent Fund – that’s indefensible
4 min read
For too long, the UK’s economy has been overly dependent on London and the financial sector, with entire regions like the North East written off as “left behind”. We are not. If we are given the tools to lead, we are the future of the British economy.
To take my own city, Newcastle helped build the modern world. From steam power to shipbuilding, our great city was the Industrial Revolution’s engine. Growing up in the city of George Stephenson helped inspire me to study electrical engineering as a young woman.
I spent two decades working as a chartered electrical engineer before I was elected in 2010. That proud heritage of invention, engineering and working-class co-operation remains today.
But the engines of industry have changed. The coal mines and factories of the past have given way to labs, data centres, clean tech hubs and digital studios. And at the heart of that transformation are our universities.
That exclusion is indefensible and incompatible with any serious commitment to levelling up or regional growth
Labour’s industrial strategy marks a break from the complacency of the past. It recognises that real growth must be regionally grounded, mission-driven and inclusive. It puts collaboration between universities, businesses and communities at its core. And crucially, it understands that innovation and productivity must come from every region, not just the so-called “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge.
For example, Northumbria University, located at the heart of my constituency, is one of the UK’s fastest-rising research institutions, with strengths spanning AI, health technology, advanced materials and digital design.
One example is the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST), a cutting-edge £50m facility being developed by the university, with significant investment from the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin. It will bring together world-leading space experts and foster close collaboration between industry and academia to help transform the UK’s space economy.
The university is also training the next generation of engineers, data scientists, and innovators. This is what a truly place-based industrial strategy looks like in action.
And yet, that potential is too often ignored. As I highlighted in my recent letter to the minister for science, no university north of Birmingham was awarded support from the government’s £54m Global Talent Fund. That exclusion is indefensible and incompatible with any serious commitment to levelling up or regional growth.
The numbers are stark. GDP per head in London stands at £69,000, while in the North East it’s just £28,000 – despite the region’s world-class research institutions and significant industrial contributions. The North East, home to around 2.7 million people, has seen barely any improvement in labour productivity over the past two decades.
If we raised productivity to the national average, we could boost UK GDP by over one per cent – the equivalent of a full year’s growth. In Wales, with a population of around 3.1 million, doing the same would add another 1.2 per cent. The potential gains from levelling up aren’t just regional – they’re national.
This isn’t a mystery. It’s a matter of strategic investment and political will. We need to support universities as economic anchors, not just academic institutions. We must invest in infrastructure, skills and R&D where the potential is most significant, not just where the postcode is fashionable. We need to give mayors and regional leaders the powers and funding to drive growth on their terms.
Labour’s industrial strategy offers the right framework. But success depends on full delivery and that means embedding a regional lens across every department, every funding decision, and every growth initiative.
We can no longer afford to treat science policy, skills development and industrial growth as isolated silos. They must work in concert with the place and people at the centre.
We built the modern world once before in cities like Newcastle. With this strategy and proper support, we can do it again, not just for the North of England but for all of Britain.
Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central and West
