News: Minister cites South Yorkshire's economic growth in speech

In a recent speech on strengthening regional economies, the Minister of State for Competitiveness, Stephen Timms MP uses the economic growth in South Yorkshire as an example of how the North/South divide debate and comparisons with London don't give a rounded picture of how English regions are performing. The minister instead uses comparisons with similar regions around Europe. "For example, from 1995 to 2004, growth in South Yorkshire was almost double that of Dusseldorf in Germany or Lorraine in France."
Full speech online