Levelling up? Implications and impacts of changing geopolitical landscapes for the UK's economic geography
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Geography
Abstract
This Fellowship aims to provide independent analysis of the changing nature of the UK's economic geography as it responds to a number of significant geopolitical changes including
- the new post-Brexit UK-EU trading relationship and the UK's evolving trade strategy with other countries outside the EU
- changes in global supply chains, partly related to Brexit but also shaped by the ongoing post-Covid economic recovery
- energy price shocks related to the war in Ukraine
- political commitments to deliver a net zero economy by 2050.
Not all of these developments are unique to the UK. However, the particularities of the UK economy means that its response differs in important ways to other international comparators.
In particular, the Fellowship examines how these geopolitical changes are impacting the UK economy in regionally uneven ways. This is important because recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that between January and March 2022 London's economy grew by 1.2% but at the same time, all other regions apart from Northern Ireland are yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. This suggests that the Government's ambitions to 'level up' the UK post Covid could be difficult to achieve with longstanding regional economic inequalities potentially become further entrenched.
In response, this Fellowship aims to provide independent and rigorous analysis of the regional implications of geopolitical changes on the UK's economic geography. The Fellowship will combine analysis of secondary reports, policy documents, social scientific research and official data with real time tracking of economic performance across the UK and in-depth qualitative research in five contrasting locations across the UK (Belfast, London, Milton Keynes, Teesside and Mansfield). By adopting a comparative approach, the Fellowship will be able to evaluate what lessons can be learnt from different regional development policies and suggest ways in which policy interventions can be best developed to address the UK's uneven economic geography in the future.
The Fellowship aims to
1. Synthesise understandings of the impacts of the UK's changing geopolitical landscape for its economic economy
2. Chart the ongoing changes in the regional development of the UK economy in real time
3. Transfer and disseminate knowledge, analysis and understanding to a range of stakeholders within the UK and internationally including politicians, journalists, civil servants, local policy makers, businesses, civil society and the UK public thereby raising the profile of UK social science
4. Enhance and extend the work of the UKICE hub beyond London to the regions, working closely with the Director, UKICE's office and other fellows
The Fellowship will involve working closely with a range of stakeholders at the national and local level as well as members of the UK in a Changing Europe research network. This includes the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the City of London Corporation, the London Assembly, The Midlands Engine, Local Economic Partnerships and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland.
Outcomes will be shared and discussed with policymakers, practitioners, journalists, civil servants and the wider public through: a state of the art report on the UK's contemporary economic geography, regular blog and social media reports, seminars across the UK and materials for Schools. Findings will also be shared with interdisciplinary academic audiences in economic geography, sociology, international political economy and British politics through a series of peer reviewed academic papers.
- the new post-Brexit UK-EU trading relationship and the UK's evolving trade strategy with other countries outside the EU
- changes in global supply chains, partly related to Brexit but also shaped by the ongoing post-Covid economic recovery
- energy price shocks related to the war in Ukraine
- political commitments to deliver a net zero economy by 2050.
Not all of these developments are unique to the UK. However, the particularities of the UK economy means that its response differs in important ways to other international comparators.
In particular, the Fellowship examines how these geopolitical changes are impacting the UK economy in regionally uneven ways. This is important because recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that between January and March 2022 London's economy grew by 1.2% but at the same time, all other regions apart from Northern Ireland are yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. This suggests that the Government's ambitions to 'level up' the UK post Covid could be difficult to achieve with longstanding regional economic inequalities potentially become further entrenched.
In response, this Fellowship aims to provide independent and rigorous analysis of the regional implications of geopolitical changes on the UK's economic geography. The Fellowship will combine analysis of secondary reports, policy documents, social scientific research and official data with real time tracking of economic performance across the UK and in-depth qualitative research in five contrasting locations across the UK (Belfast, London, Milton Keynes, Teesside and Mansfield). By adopting a comparative approach, the Fellowship will be able to evaluate what lessons can be learnt from different regional development policies and suggest ways in which policy interventions can be best developed to address the UK's uneven economic geography in the future.
The Fellowship aims to
1. Synthesise understandings of the impacts of the UK's changing geopolitical landscape for its economic economy
2. Chart the ongoing changes in the regional development of the UK economy in real time
3. Transfer and disseminate knowledge, analysis and understanding to a range of stakeholders within the UK and internationally including politicians, journalists, civil servants, local policy makers, businesses, civil society and the UK public thereby raising the profile of UK social science
4. Enhance and extend the work of the UKICE hub beyond London to the regions, working closely with the Director, UKICE's office and other fellows
The Fellowship will involve working closely with a range of stakeholders at the national and local level as well as members of the UK in a Changing Europe research network. This includes the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the City of London Corporation, the London Assembly, The Midlands Engine, Local Economic Partnerships and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland.
Outcomes will be shared and discussed with policymakers, practitioners, journalists, civil servants and the wider public through: a state of the art report on the UK's contemporary economic geography, regular blog and social media reports, seminars across the UK and materials for Schools. Findings will also be shared with interdisciplinary academic audiences in economic geography, sociology, international political economy and British politics through a series of peer reviewed academic papers.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Sarah Hall (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications

Hall S
(2024)
The State of the UK Economy

Hall S
(2023)
The changing spatial arrangements of global finance: Financial, social and legal infrastructures
in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space

Hall S
(2025)
Reglobalisation: States, legal geographies, and the challenges of the green transition
in Dialogues in Human Geography

Hall, S
(2023)
What has the impact of Brexit been on the UK economy?
Related Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Award Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES/X005593/1 | 31/12/2022 | 29/09/2023 | £627,194 | ||
ES/X005593/2 | Transfer | ES/X005593/1 | 30/09/2023 | 29/05/2026 | £506,546 |
Description | This research examines how levelling up and wider policies are being used to address longstanding regional inequalities in the UK economy. Research findings are most fully developed through case study work in London and East Anglia. In London, the project provides qualitative insights into what the 'squeezed middle' as a socio-economic group is and how it is getting by through a period of low economic growth. Meanwhile greater Cambridge and Milton Keynes has been identified as a key area for targeted growth measures by the current government. Our research reveals the often hidden side of low growth within what has been identified as a high growth region and reveals how households are taking steps to manage their economic security in this situation. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the economic inequality can be found in high growth parts of the UK that are often overlooked within the wider policies aimed at addressing regional inequality, including those associated with levelling up. |
Exploitation Route | The research shows the importance of understanding inequality within high growth regions when developing policy to address regional inequality and levelling up in the UK. |
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First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Creative Economy,Education,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
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Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
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Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
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Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
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Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
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Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
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