North of England would rank second worst for investment if OECD country

If the north of England were a country, it would be second bottom of a league table showing levels of investment in advanced economies, according to a report by a leading thinktank.

Only Greece has lower levels of public and private investment in a ranking of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries compiled by researchers at IPPR North, the northern branch of the influential Institute for Public Policy Research.

The research, which aims to put the norths situation in an international context, will be revealed at Convention of the North, an annual gathering of political, civic and business leaders being held in Manchester on Wednesday.

Marcus Johns, the reports author, said the research showed the UK was standing out internationally for all the wrong reasons.

Of all the advanced economies around the world, ours is the most regionally divided and getting worse the north is at the sharp end of these divides and thats a barrier to prosperity. But whats even more unacceptable is that our country is divided by design. It is the result of decisions.