Who Runs Leeds
Who Runs Leeds?
An Action Research Project run by the School of Geography and Corporate Watch with financial and research support from local trade unions.
The emergence of Leeds as an economic powerhouse in Britain in the past decade has been nothing short of spectacular. The second largest metropolitan district in England, Leeds is now the leading financial and law centre outside London. In the last 20 years, more jobs have been created in Leeds than in any other UK city outside London, and it is expected to provide 45% of employment growth in the region over the next 10 years. But beneath this comprehensive transformation of Leeds from industrial town to thriving metropolis, a dramatic restructuring of power, ownership and wealth is taking place prompting citizens to ask: who is really running Leeds?
Research Project Description
The Who Runs Leeds project is run by academic researchers Paul Chatterton, Sara Gonzalez and Stuart Hodkinson at the School of Geography University of Leeds, in association with Clare Fauset of Corporate Watch
• to uncover the networks of decision-making power and the major power holders in Leeds and the city region;
• to determine who ‘owns’ Leeds and understand the relationship between ownership and power;
• to discover in relative terms who is benefiting and who is not from the direction in which Leeds is taking;
• to critically examine and map out the recent past and present of privatisation and regeneration processes;
• to demonstrate who runs Leeds and how to help open up the democratic process, hold power holders to account and redistribute decision-making power downwards to citizens;
• to make available a range of educational and accessible resources (e.g. guides, websites, teaching resources, pamphlets, events) tailor-made for both the general public and more targeted audiences.
Stage 1: Mapping Privatisation in Leeds
In order to get this project going, we are undertaking an initial research inquiry into the processes and outcomes of privatisation in Leeds. Over the past 30 years, guided by neoliberalism, power has shifted dramatically from the public to the private sector, a trend that has coincided with the transfer in ownership of economic assets in the same direction. The next and final phase in the neoliberal project is the privatisation of public services, and all remaining public assets. This has major implications for the provision of those services, the rights and welfare of both service users and workers in service providers, and the future capacity of the public to change economic course.
The seriousness of these developments demands that the processes of privatisation in Leeds are subject to rigorous analysis and public debate. The current picture is fragmented with workers, consumers and residents only normally being able to see local privatisation taking place without recourse the wider, city picture. Yet privatisation anywhere in Leeds has implications for everyone in the city. This is a major democratic deficit. A number of questions need to be addressed:
• What is the overall picture, pattern and future scenario of privatisation in Leeds?
• How is being carried out? e.g. direct sale of assets, PFI etc.
• Who is making these decisions, where and why?
• Which sectors appear most vulnerable? e.g. social housing, education etc.
• What role do regeneration projects play in selling off assets and services?
• Are taxpayers getting value for money from this sell-offs or contracted out services? What the current and long-term costs?
• How is service provision being affected?
• What are the ramifications for citizens’ rights, be they workers or users?
• How are lines of accountability and democracy being affected?
• Who are the companies now running, seeking to run or influencing the privatisation of public services?
• Who are the corporations behind regeneration projects such as Eastgate and Harewood Quarter in the city centre, or the massive EASEL initiative?
• What is their track record in delivering services and in protecting citizens’ rights?
• Who is benefiting from privatisation? Who is losing out and do experiences depend on class, race, ethnicity, gender, age?
• What are the long-term implications of privatisation in Leeds for economy, community, welfare, democracy, environment?
• How much taxpayers’ money is being allocated to QUANGOs and Quangocrats?
Project Sponsors
This project has a limited budget. We have received small contributions from the University of Leeds, Leeds Unison, Leeds Unison NHS, Leeds Unite, Leeds NUT and Leeds NASWUT.
Resources
Background
Gonzalez, S (2006), City regions, regional governance and the
Northern Way, The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Review, Autumn 
Corporate Watch (2006), Leeds: Live it, Lease it, Newsletter 30, June/July
Chatterton, P, & Hodkinson, S (2007), ‘Leeds: Skyscraper City’, The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Review, Spring
Hodkinson, S & Chatterton, P (2007), ‘Leeds: an affordable, viable, sustainable, democratic city?’, The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Review, Summer
Hodkinson, S (2007), ‘Little London Takes the Initiative’, Big Issue in the North, download pages 14, 15, and 16
Leeds affordable housing crisis
Official documents – Leeds City Council