Evidence Base
41 evidence sources from official statistics, free-market think tanks, government reports, and international comparisons. Every policy is grounded in data — deregulation, enterprise, private investment, and welfare reform.
Showing 41 of 41 sources
Regional Gross Value Added (balanced) by Local Authority
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR GVA is ~£33bn (£20,400/head) vs Manchester's £72bn (£25,100/head). Target: £50bn (£31,250/head).
Subregional Productivity: Labour Productivity Indices
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR productivity is 15% below the UK average vs Manchester's 5% gap. Target: +2% above average.
Business Demography UK
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR ranks 36th of 38 for business density vs Manchester at 12th. Target: top 10 with 14,000+ annual business births.
Annual Population Survey: Employment and Economic Activity
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR employment rate 70.6% vs Manchester's 74.2% and UK 75.7%. Inactivity 26% vs Manchester's 22%. Target: 78% employment, 18% inactivity.
UK Freeports Programme Report 2025
MHCLG — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
UK freeports have attracted £6.4bn in private investment, almost 90% foreign direct investment. Clean energy leads at £2.6bn. The Freeport is a unique structural asset for the city region.
The Housing Guarantee
Robert Colvile — Centre for Policy Studies
Consent-and-compensate could unlock housing delivery. LCR builds ~4,500 homes/year. Target: 10,000+ — meeting estimated need for 1.6m people.
Raising the Roof: How to Solve the UK Housing Crisis
Jacob Rees-Mogg & others — Institute of Economic Affairs
Planning restrictions are the binding constraint on housing supply. Rules-based zoning would unlock the housing and commercial development pipeline.
Cities Outlook 2024
Centre for Cities — Centre for Cities
Liverpool's business density gap is a major drag on city region GVA. Moving to top 10 for business density would significantly boost output and employment.
Levelling Up in Practice
Neil O'Brien & others — Onward
R&D redistribution could boost productivity 8-12% by 2040. LCR R&D is 1.1% vs UK average 2.4%. Target: 2.5%.
Rethinking the Planning System
Sam Dumitriu — Policy Exchange
Planning restrictions add ~£4,500/year to housing costs. Faster planning decisions are essential to unlocking the development pipeline.
Fiscal Risks Report
OBR — Office for Budget Responsibility
Planning reform could boost GDP by 0.2-0.4% — equivalent to £600m-£1.2bn for LCR. LCR needs to lead on planning reform to capture this growth.
Strategic Transport Plan
Transport for the North — Transport for the North
Northern cities receive significantly less transport capital investment per head than London. LCR currently spends ~£89/head on transport capital vs ~£128 in Greater Manchester. Target: £140/head through leveraged private co-investment.
Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North
National Infrastructure Commission — National Infrastructure Commission
NPR would generate £15bn boost to LCR over 20 years and cut Liverpool-Manchester to 22 mins — transforming connectivity and the labour market across the city region.
Planning Applications Statistics
DLUHC — Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Liverpool major planning decisions take 73 weeks vs 13-week statutory target. Target: major decisions within 13-week statutory target.
Housing Supply: Net Additional Dwellings Statistics
DLUHC — Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
LCR delivers ~4,500 homes/year vs need of 10,000+. Target: 10,000+ — meeting estimated need for 1.6m people.
OECD Skills Strategy
OECD — Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Closing the skills mismatch gap boosts productivity 5%+. LCR's NVQ4+ rate is ~41% vs UK average 43%. Target: 46%.
JAFZA Annual Report 2023
JAFZA — Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority
JAFZA contributes 36% of Dubai GDP and employs 135,000+. LCR's Freeport is a unique structural asset — no other Northern city region has one.
Special Economic Zones: Lessons and Policy Insights
World Bank — World Bank Group
Shenzhen SEZ achieved 60x GDP growth in a decade. LCR's Freeport provides a similar structural advantage if given genuine regulatory freedoms.
Graduate Outcomes Survey
HESA — Higher Education Statistics Agency
Only 51% of LCR graduates remain vs Manchester's ~68%. Target: 72%+ — keeping talent local through jobs, housing, and opportunity.
State of the North 2023
IPPR North — Institute for Public Policy Research North
LCR receives £900m less in skills funding per head than London. The answer isn't more funding — it's giving employers direct control over existing budgets through employer-led commissioning.
UK Tech Ecosystem Report
Tech Nation — Tech Nation
LCR's digital sector generates £1.8bn in GVA — but Manchester is at £5bn. Target: grow digital sector GVA to £6bn.
Gross Expenditure on R&D by Region
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR R&D is 1.1% of GVA vs Manchester's 1.8% and UK average 2.4%. Target: 2.5% — above the UK average of 2.4%.
Health State Life Expectancy
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR healthy life expectancy is 2.5 years below average. Target: above national average through private provision, employer occupational health incentives, and welfare reform.
Stat-Xplore: Benefit Statistics
DWP — Department for Work and Pensions
97,000 in LCR claim out-of-work health benefits — ~6% of working-age population. Target: reduce to 55,000 through private back-to-work providers paid by results and welfare taper reform.
Peel Ports Group Annual Report
Peel Ports — Peel Ports Group
Port of Liverpool handles 900,000 TEU annually with capacity for expansion. The UK's 4th busiest container port — a unique structural asset with significant expansion capacity.
Greater Manchester Growth Company Impact Report
Growth Company — Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Manchester achieved 3.1% annual business growth. LCR needs to go further — through lower business rates, slashed red tape, and removing the barriers that make this one of the hardest places in England to start a business.
LCR Freeport Board Report
LCR Freeport — Liverpool City Region Freeport
LCR Freeport has leveraged £0.8bn so far — but barely scratched its potential. Target: £2bn+ leveraged, making this the UK's most productive free zone. A unique asset for the city region.
Sci-Tech Daresbury Annual Report
Sci-Tech Daresbury — Sci-Tech Daresbury
Sci-Tech Daresbury has grown from 30 to 150+ companies in a decade. A nationally significant science campus and unique innovation asset for the city region.
LCR Skills Advisory Panel Report
LCR CA — Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
24,000 hard-to-fill vacancies in LCR. The skills system is producing the wrong outputs. Give employers direct control over training budgets and incentivise on-the-job training through tax relief.
Estimates of Station Usage
ORR — Office of Rail and Road
LCR sees 38m rail journeys/year. Target: 65m journeys through Merseyrail expansion and new stations.
Regional Trade in Goods Statistics
HMRC — HM Revenue & Customs
LCR total exports (goods and services) are £8.5bn annually. With the Freeport and port infrastructure, target: £11.8bn by 2030 — establishing LCR as the North's premier export hub.
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR median weekly wage £540 vs UK average £640. Target: £650/week — above the national average.
Liverpool City Region Visitor Economy Update
LCR Combined Authority — Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Liverpool City Region visitor economy is reported at £6.25bn for 2023. Target: £9bn through waterfront, culture, and event-led growth.
Local Transport Plan
LCR CA — Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
75% of LCR jobs accessible by car but only 35% by public transport. Enhanced Quality Partnerships for buses and PPP-funded Merseyrail expansion can transform accessibility across the city region.
Bee Network Bus Performance Updates
TfGM — Transport for Greater Manchester
Manchester's Bee Network shows the case for better bus standards — but LCR should use Enhanced Quality Partnerships rather than full franchising, keeping private operators investing and competing while enforcing service standards.
The Economy 2030 Inquiry
Resolution Foundation — Resolution Foundation
The UK productivity puzzle requires deregulation and enterprise, not more devolution frameworks. LCR needs to use its existing powers to cut barriers and lower costs.
HE Finance Data
HESA — Higher Education Statistics Agency
LCR universities generate ~£1.2bn in total annual income but only 2% of research output translates to local spinouts. Target: triple the spinout rate through founder-friendly IP policies.
Peel Group Quarterly Report
Peel Group — Peel Group
Liverpool Waters + Wirral Waters = £10bn+ in development, the largest regeneration pipeline in the North. These sites need development corporation powers to unlock their full potential.
Claimant Count Statistics
ONS — Office for National Statistics
LCR claimant count 5.8% vs UK average 3.8%. Target: 3.2% — below the national average.
Planning for the Future
Centre for Cities — Centre for Cities
4.3 million homes not built nationally due to planning restrictions. Rules-based zoning would unlock the development pipeline and accelerate housing delivery.
Northern Powerhouse Rail Business Case
TfN — Transport for the North
NPR cuts Liverpool-Manchester to 22 minutes from 50+. This transforms LCR's connectivity — linking the city region's unique assets to the wider Northern economy.