Conor D'Arcy's presentation from Resolution Foundation's Bristol event on living standards in the West of England.

1. The West Side story:
The living standards challenge facing the
Metro Mayor for West of England
Jaya Chakrabarti, co-founder of Nameless
Conor D’Arcy, Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol
John Savage, Executive Chairman of Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Chair:Torsten Bell, Director of the Resolution Foundation
@resfoundation // #MetroMayor

2. The West Side story:
The living standards challenge facing the
Metro Mayor for West of England
@resfoundation // #MetroMayor
Conor D’Arcy
January 2017

3. In May, voters in the West of England will elect a new
‘Metro Mayor’
3
• Residents in three authorities eligible to vote:
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bristol
• South Gloucestershire
• (Not North Somerset)
• The new Metro Mayor will gain control and funding for
parts of transport, skills and back-to-work programmes
• They won’t solve all the area’s problems alone –
collaboration with local leaders andWestminster needed

4. THE MILD MILD WEST
4
The West of England’s recession and recovery

5. The West of England’s mayor will inherit a strong
economy, now bigger than pre-crisis
5

6. Productivity is high and has risen more quickly than
most city regions
6

7. That growth has translated into a jobs boom, with
employment rates higher than the city average
7

8. Which has underpinned high incomes in the West of
England
8

9. GROWING PAINS?
9
How inclusive is the West of England’s prosperity?

10. Employment gains have been broadly shared across
disadvantaged groups
10

11. But in parts of the West of England, only half of
people are in work
11

12. Across the UK a gap between productivity and pay
growth has opened up
12

13. That gap is even larger in theWest of England
13

14. With lower earners here faring worse than their
counterparts nationally
14

15. (TEARS FOR) HOUSING FEARS
15
The housing drag on the West of England’s living standards

16. Typical house prices are now 10 times the typical
annual salary
16

17. Unsurprisingly, homeownership has fallen,
particularly for younger people
17

18. And typical rents are a large proportion of typical
monthly salaries
18

19. TELL ME WHAT’S MY LESSON
19
Priorities for the new Metro Mayor

20. The Metro Mayor’s focus should be on ensuring the
West of England’s success is sustainable and shared
20
• Priority one: aim to become the first full employment
city region
• Priority two: tighten the link between productivity and
pay
• Priority three: build more homes

21. The West Side story:
The living standards challenge facing the
Metro Mayor for West of England
Jaya Chakrabarti, co-founder of Nameless
Conor D’Arcy, Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol
John Savage, Executive Chairman of Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Chair:Torsten Bell, Director of the Resolution Foundation
@resfoundation // #MetroMayor