‘Liverpool’s economy will thrive’ says Prof Parkinson
Top Liverpool academic and economist Professor Michael Parkinson tells the Baltic Triangle Podcast the city’s future is bright despite current economic problems. Tony McDonough reports
Leading academic Professor Michael Parkinson claims Liverpool’s economy has strong fundamentals and will thrive in years to come despite current troubles.
Speaking to this month’s Baltic Triangle Podcast, Prof Parkinson said: “I am not too depressed about Liverpool’s economy. Frankly, I am fairly optimistic. I talk to people in the economic development sector and they say the five to 10-year outlook is pretty decent.
“What you have to do is balance up all the short-term difficulties with the long-term opportunities. There is no reason to be too depressed but you have to be realistic.”
Prof Parkinson is Honorary Professor at the University of Liverpool and Ambassador for its Heseltine Institute for Public Policy. He has been analysing and commenting on the Merseyside economy for more than 40 years.
In 1985 he was the author of Liverpool on the Brink. This was an analysis of the parlous economic state of the city at that time. It was an era when Liverpool was sandwiched between harsh Thatcherite economics and the rise of Militant in the Town Hall.
In 2019 he published a follow-up work: Liverpool Beyond the Brink – the Remaking of a Post-Imperial City. It put forward the view Merseyside had the potential to continue its recent renaissance.
In the last 20 years Liverpool’s economy has rebounded significantly from the darks of the 1980s and early 90s. A multi-billion pound injection from the EU acted as a catalyst for regeneration. In 2008 the city was European Capital of Culture and saw the opening of the £1bn Liverpool ONE development.
However, the city has not escaped the hammer blow of the pandemic. And, as we emerge from COVID-19 the UK faces rising inflation and a likely recession.
Prof Parkinson acknowledges this current reality and the challenges it brings. But he also talks about Liverpool’s strengths such as the growing knowledge economy, the maritime sector with the imminent Freeport as well as the tourism and the creative and digital sectors.
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“We have to make a distinction between cyclical factors and structural factors. Cyclical refers to what is happening with the global economy and trade etc. Structural refers to the fundamentals of our own economy.
“It is important when times are difficult not to start saying ‘oh my God, we are doomed’ . We have to say ‘yes this is challenging, but what does our underlying economy look like? Recessions are like booms – they all come to an end in the end.
“We have strength and great potential in a whole set of areas. I think the knowledge economy is now very important – biotech, medical. The port which made Liverpool great, and then collapsed, has obviously had a renaissance. It has 45% of all UK trade with the US. That will be a big winner.
“We have offshore wind and we can do more with that. Our visitor economy, which is at the lower skilled lower paid end, is still a very important driver. We have lots of stuff of in digital, creative and media. So there is a package of strengths which means Liverpool city region has good prospects when the economy picks up and we make the right decisions.”
This month’s Baltic Triangle Podcast also speaks to Rebecca Taylor, chief executive of Liverpool-based medical equipment supplier, Aquarate. It has developed a smart Hydracup which is being used in the care sector to better monitor the hydration levels of elderly patients.