UK’s stagnating economy is confirmed
This article outlines that “figures revealed that household spending declined by 0.6% in real terms [in the first quarter of 2011], its biggest drop since the second quarter of 2009 after consumers were squeezed by the failure of wages to keep pace with inflation. This follows a drop of 0.3% in the final quarter of 2010.”
This decline in spending is having a major impact on local high streets. The recent appointment of “The Queen of Shops” to look at solutions to the problems of retail decline, often all the more noticeable in the small rural towns that serve very large hinterlands, offers a crumb of comfort.
I think there is a need however for a more detailed and dynamic debate about the future of England’s towns.
My good friend Professor John Shepherd is the best national thinker on this issue and this article makes me reflect on the importance of his work. If you would like to know more about what he knows and can offer in the context of this agenda, drop me a line.