Northerners '£2,300 worse off' than rest of UK

BBC Media City at Salford Quays and reflected in Manchester ship canal.

Claims that the Government is building a Northern Powerhouse have been called into question after new data revealed workers in the region have £2,300 less disposable income.

That gap widens to £7,200 when compared to London, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North.

"These figures show the Northern Powerhouse has a long way to go before people in the North feel the benefit of a stronger regional economy," said Luke Raikes, research fellow at IPPR North.

He added that the region would be unable to escape historic under performance of its economy without a "step change in policy."

Disposable income is any money leftover for saving or spending after taxes.

The study found the UK average disposable income stood at £17,600, but this fell to £15,300 when you looked at the North in isolation. What's more, just two Northern areas featured in the top 50 of country's richest in disposable income.

The report stressed that, while it welcomed the Government's Northern Powerhouse agenda, a key test of its success must be how it translates into higher living standards for people living and working in the region.

Luke Raikes, research fellow at IPPR North, said: "Correcting the imbalances in our nation's economy is about more than just stronger economic growth figures or faster journey times – we have to improve the quality of life and incomes of people in the North too.

"The North should pursue growth and prosperity built on higher wages, more jobs and stronger productivity – not simply try to catch up to London and the South East, where the type of economic growth they've experienced has created high levels of inequality and left many behind.

"The Northern Powerhouse will be meaningless for the people who live and work in the North unless the economic growth it generates reaches their pockets."