Economics
A Tortuous Journey From London Exposes a Hard Economic Truth
Clogged roads and skills shortages in northern England help explain the weakest productivity since the Industrial Revolution.
Photographer: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images
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Tom Mathew travels most weeks from his home in London to the industrial park on the edge of the northern English town of Bury from where the family business distributes food and drinks to schools and hospitals.
It takes just over two hours by train to go the first 160 miles (259 kilometers) to the nearby city of Manchester. Usually, there’s even wifi so he can get some work done. The trip will be quicker once a controversial new high-speed rail link is completed, albeit in two decades.