Our research output is focussed on the five areas which we think will make the biggest material difference to peoples’ lives and policy development. They are:

1. Health and Wellbeing

People living in the North of England die around three years earlier than the UK average with life expectancy in some parts of the North, for example parts of Blackpool, getting worse against a general trend of improvement.Our local people also have a higher rate of chronic conditions which clearly affects life satisfaction and happiness.

2. Innovation and R&D

Over the last thirty years, the UK has slipped from being one of the most research intensive developed economies in the world, to being one of the least. This has a regional dimension too with Oxford, Cambridge and inner-London receiving a third of total R&D spending and 41% of public spending - disproportionate to their economic size or population.Capacity to innovate matters as it is strongly linked to productivity levels which improve wages and opportunities for local people.

3. Connectivity

It is well accepted that improved connectivity promotes the creation of “industrial commons” - areas where many complementary industries are located near to each other. This concentration of similar businesses increases access to relevant skills and specialisation which then improves productivity and the number of high-quality jobs available.Many call for more investment in transport but it has to be prioritised, done well and spent on schemes that improves lives most rather than generating good PR or giving in to lobbying from vested interests.

4. Opportunity

The ultimate aim of many policy interventions is to improve the life chances of people by increasing their opportunities. Whether that is opportunity to find high-quality purposeful employment without having to move home or the opportunity to receive a world-class education.

In the North of England we have far fewer people with degree-level education which is exacerbating the North/South divide. Today - rather than working and middle-class - different sections of society can be more accurately seen through the lens of high and low levels of education. Those with higher education levels are now investing significantly more time and resources to give their children the upper hand in university applications and the jobs market, leaving those from lower education households to fall further and further behind. 

5. Values

The values and principles of many in Westminster, our intelligentsia and vested interests are at odds with those of the general public and people in the North of England. This divergence in values has led to many of the backlashes we have seen over the last few years from unchecked globalization to unlimited immigration.

We will look at how core One Nation values can translate best to communities which have voted Conservative for the first time and many of whom have overcome a cultural barrier in doing so.