Economic Futures in the UK

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Causes of Economic Change

Globalisation has a big impact on the UK economy through the following factors:

Economic growth

Cheaper goods and services

Foreign investment

High-value production

Migration

Less manufacturing

Outsourcing jobs

Inequality

De-industrialisation has caused the regions of northern England to shut down. Coal industries, in particular left the area, leaving vast unemployment and a struggling economy.

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Moving Towards a Post-Industrial Economy:

The UK is seeing a shift towards quaternary industry.

There has been a huge development in information technology, service industries, finance, research, and science and business parks.

Most of this growth is found in growth corridors on major transport routes.

The M4 corridor from London to Bristol is home to high-tech industry; companies like Sony and Microsoft are based here.

The M4 corridor produces approximately 8% of the UK's economic output.

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Rural Changes

Rural areas are due to both population growth and decline due to rural depopulation and counter-urbanisation.

Population growth allows small towns to survive, maintaining demand for local services.

Population growth also pushes up house prices and changes rural culture.

Population decline leads to a decline in rural services and an ageing population.

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Developments in Infrastructure

There are plans for a new high-speed rail network in the UK.

High Speed 1 runs from London to Kent on the same line as the Eurostar to Paris.

High Speed 2 is planned to run from London to Birmingham, onto Manchester and Leeds.

The high-speed rail systems are being developed to reduce congestion on the roads and reduce journey times.

There is an investment plan for 100 new road schemes by 2020.

A new port opened on the Thames Estuary in 2013 to accommodate for larger container ships.

The new port employs over 2,000 people, with plans for another 6,000 at the accompanying logistics park.

Expansion to Heathrow airport is planned to bring more trade into London to compete with other global cities.

A new runway is planned for 2030 at a cost of £18.6 billion.

This would bring a huge amount of employment to the area.

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Linking the UK to the World

The UK is tied to the countries of the Commonwealth. These are countries that were once British colonies and now keep strong trading connections with the UK.

The UK joined the European Union in 1973, promoting migration and trade.

In 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union.

The US and China are major trading partners for the UK.

Heathrow is the UK's largest airport,offering flights to areas where there are UK trade links (which is most of the world).

90% of the people in the UK use the internet, this promotes trade and connectivity.