This blog piece by the Centre for Cities, published in December 2021, argues that the government must address the gap between the productivity of large cities, and the potential productivity that they could achieve. This gap is estimated to cost the UK economy £83 billion each year, with around £40 billion of this coming from the North's regions. In spite of their significant contributions to their regional economies, much of the drag is coming from the regions' largest cities: Manchester and Liverpool account for 77% of the North West's gap. Getting these regional cities firing offers a substantial prize to the wider regional economies.