Half-trillion pound Thames City would create new Southern Powerhouse

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· Partner London and South-East to create “Thames City” and form third biggest urban economy in the world
· New region would collaborate to build 40 new “garden suburbs” on disused brownfield sites
· Crossrail 2, 3, 4… could be funded and built with new tax powers

London and the South East should join forces to build one of the world’s largest economies and lead Britain’s future growth, according to a new report by GLA Conservative Andrew Boff.

“Southern Powerhouse: True devolution for London and South East” urges the Government to devolve tax powers to a new Thames City political body representing the shared goals of Greater London, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire.

This body would co-ordinate the sizeable shared development pot; allowing for the large-scale projects needed to meet the growing gaps in housing and transport.

Andrew Boff, GLA Conservative Assembly Member and housing spokesman, said:

“A strong relationship between London and the South-East would be worth some half a trillion pounds to the UK economy. My research shows that London provides the surrounding regions with a substantial amount of their employment, and these skills are essential to London’s economic growth. We need to give people better transport between these regions, house them, and make sure opportunities are consistently growing. Giving these areas an equal say and new devolved powers would give the region what it needs, instead of what Parliament thinks it needs. In the past London has just swallowed up its surrounding regions, here is an alternative, a partnership where these areas retain their independence. More than anything else ‘Thames City’ would give the South-East a say in London’s growth.”

The report ‘Southern Powerhouse: True devolution for London and South East’ is available at: glaconservatives.co.uk/sp

Click here to download the report

Or to save it right click 'save as' on this link glaconservatives.co.uk/sp

Press

• New report calls for 'Thames City' region – BBC
• Report urges power shift to deliver garden suburbs in London commuter belt
• London should turbo-charge devolution by creating a Thames City super-region
• Thames City would create 40 new garden cities, says report – Srchitects Journal
• Half-trillion pound ‘Thames City’ could be third richest urban area on earth – MayorWatch

Notes:
The figures: Half a trillion pounds – This figure is the combined economies (gross value added) of London and the bordering regions:

 
In total this equates to £557bn, making ‘Thames City’ the third largest city economy after Tokyo and New York. It would be 39% larger than London’s economy as it stands.