Between Economic Competitiveness and Social Inclusion: New Labour and the Economic Revival of Deprived Neighbourhoods

Abstract

Following the election of the first New Labour government in 1997 the revitalisation of deprived neighbourhoods quickly became a central feature of the policy landscape. Motivated by the desire to tackle processes of social exclusion and find a new economic basis for these areas, an array of policy experiments and interventions emerged. An increasing focus of these was to improve the economic conditions of deprived neighbourhoods with a particular emphasis upon tackling worklessness and promoting entrepreneurial activity. Yet despite this sustained activity, 13 years later the gap between the poorest neighbourhoods and the rest persisted. This paper reflects critically upon the development of this policy agenda, its aims, outcomes and effectiveness, and identifies the factors that constrained its ability to transform the economic fortunes of England's most deprived neighbourhoods.

Notes

¹ This paper focuses upon policy developments within England. As a result of the process of devolution introduced by the NL government, policy development in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland proceeded somewhat differently under different governance arrangements albeit with similar approaches and policy types.

² For example, in 2000 the 20 per cent most deprived Super Output Areas in England had 25 businesses registering for VAT per 10,000 resident adults compared with 43 in the 20 per cent least deprived.