Brand-new UK Prosperity Index reveals South East is most prosperous region in the UK

On Thursday 13th May the Legatum Institute published a brand-new UK Prosperity Index. It uses 256 indicators based on the latest available data (predominantly from before Covid-19 struck) to provide a comprehensive assessment of institutional, economic, and social well-being across the country’s 379 local authorities. The Index will be used to track the Government’s ‘levelling-up agenda’ and hold decision-makers to account for improving the prosperity of all regions of the UK.

The Index reveals that the South East is the most prosperous region of the UK, with 31 of the 50 top-performing local authorities in the country, and is becoming more prosperous over time. The region overall has low levels of crime, good governance, strong social fabric, good health and living conditions, and a strong economy with a fruitful environment for investment. However, there are notable challenges in the region’s coastal towns, including rising crime, deteriorating health, falling living conditions, and challenging conditions for local businesses.

The Index shows that the South East’s key strengths are:

• Strong governance: residents are more likely than the UK average to perceive politicians as having integrity and freedom from the influence of financial donors, and local councils manage housing benefit claims and tax collection in a timely and effective manner.
• High levels of social capital: the region has some of the strongest family relationships and highest levels of trust in institutions and civic participation in the country.
• Strong economies that provide a fertile environment for businesses and entrepreneurship: the number of businesses that are successful in obtaining equity investment in the region has risen from 44% in 2011 to 63% in 2021, and nearly two-thirds of businesses are confident they will be able to secure finance in the future.
• The best living conditions in the country: there are low rates of homelessness and a poverty rate of just 18%, compared to the UK average of 22%.

However, the Index also reveals that there are opportunities for the South East to 'level-up', including:

• Increasing the safety and security of communities in the region’s mid-sized urban hubs and coastal towns: these areas suffer from disproportionately high rates of property crime.
• Improving the conditions for enterprise: the major challenge in the region is business costs, with property costs the second-highest in the country.
• Improving health in coastal towns: at 4.3%, the prevalence of cancer in Eastbourne, Hastings, and Lewes is above the national average of 3.1%, and these local authorities have among the highest prevalence of depression in the region.
• Increasing the educational performance of local authorities outside the region’s 'Commuter Belt'.

Professor Matthew Goodwin, director of the Legatum Institute’s Centre for UK Prosperity, said: “The UK Prosperity Index is the most ambitious assessment of prosperity across the country to date. With detailed data on all boroughs and council areas, it is a transformational tool that can help policy-makers and influencers target their interventions more effectively on the journey towards greater prosperity. The Index will be updated annually, allowing citizens, businesses, local authorities, regions, and national government to track progress over time and hold decision-makers to account.

“The holistic and rigorous approach we have taken has allowed us to identify issues that have previously been missed in the discussion about how to level up the country. It highlights that while the majority of local authorities in the South East perform well in many aspects of prosperity, we also need to invest in improving safety and security of communities, health, and environment for local businesses, especially in coastal towns, if we are to see all citizens, neighbourhoods, and communities in the region reach their full potential. We hope our Index will help leaders across the South East set their agendas and implement strategies that will unlock real prosperity.”

The Index reveals that the South East is home to the top five local authorities in the UK:

1. Wokingham has low rates of poverty and some of the best health services and outcomes in the country.
2. Waverley is ranked in the top three for health with low levels of obesity in adults and children, long life expectancy at the age of 65, and prompt treatment for patients with cancer.
3. Elmbridge provides an open and competitive economy for its population with high levels of labour force engagement.
4. Epsom and Ewell benefit from effective governance, with development decisions made in a timely way, collection of 99% of council tax, and high voter turnout for national elections.
5. Woking has high levels of investment for existing and new businesses to expand abroad and among the highest percentage of women who are either in work or actively seeking it in the UK.

Strongest performing South East local authorities for overall prosperity

Weakest performing South East local authorities for overall prosperity