Budget 2013

In this bulletin we seek to describe the key elements of the 2013 budget in relation to economic development and local government; looking in particular at what it means for jobs, stimulus, and public services. We then move on to critique the content of the budget and what it means for local economies; before concluding with some thoughts on what we would do differently. We argue that:

• There is a need to create a new economic narrative;
• There is a need to challenge rampant centralism;
• There is a need to shift towards place based targeted intervention;
• There is a need to invest properly in SMEs.