Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
product bought by the state at unrealistic prices, because of their nationalized
status. When concerns for the competitiveness of the whole British economy
came to the fore in 1979, it was inevitable that a rapid cutting-back of
uneconomic industries was to take place.
In addition, the industrial structure in the northeast of England was itself
traditional, with few of the new growth industries. Instead, industries such as iron
and steel were central, feeding heavy engineering firms producing ships and other
heavy equipment. These are industries that have been effectively exported to
some of the developing countries. Such industries could not easily survive
without continuous support. Shipbuilding, for example, has continued its decline,
with the last big firm, Swan Hunters on Tyneside, closing in 1994, although a
new unit has been formed with a residual workforce. Steelmaking has been
retained at Redcar, but the inland works at Consett have been closed, and
employment drastically reduced overall.
There has in fact been a partial transformation whereby new employment has
been created in the region, but this is not taken up by Hudson. In professional
services, banking and finance there has been a doubling of employment, and this
must be regarded as a positive move. Professional services existing in 1982
employed 180,000 people, double the level of 1956. More recently, the growth in
automobile manufacturing at Washington, south of Newcastle, and at Sunderland,
is Japanese in origin but attracts some local build-up in the supply of components
for the industry. In the case of Nissan at Sunderland, opened in 1986, it is
estimated that there are over 4000 jobs in the firm directly, and 6000 jobs created
elsewhere in the manufacture of parts. Whereas the industrial wasteland of the
northeast had only four motor parts manufacturers in 1986, it has 29 in 1996.
This is a new economic base for the industry, as 70 per cent of production is
exported.
Services as a positive force
Rather than manufacturing, services growth can be a basis for development in
many regions. One of the largest nineteenth century traditional industrial regions
in the UK is that of Glasgow and Strathclyde, where there was the same mix of
coal, steel and heavy engineering as in the Tyne-Tees complex in northeast
England. In this region there has been an effective shift, so that services have
become lead activities. As
Table 5.2
shows, there was an overall shift in Scotland
towards services over the period 1971-91, but the shift has been proportionally
much greater in Strathclyde, the Glasgow metropolitan region.
An example of the change is the financial services sector, now a major
exporter for the region. Educational services may also be viewed as exporting,
with four
