‘Liverpool Beyond the Brink’, Dinner with Professor Michael Parkinson CBE

LIVERPOOL BEYOND THE BRINK:

THE REMAKING OF A POST IMPERIAL CITY

Professor Michael Parkinson will be discussing the book he is currently writing to update his 1980s classic – ‘Liverpool on the Brink’. His new book describes the extraordinary if incomplete renaissance of Liverpool during the last 30 years. It shows how much has been achieved, who helped and what are its outstanding challenges in future.

This book looks at how economic decline caused the physical, social and political fragmentation of that huge imperial city during the 1970s – and at the efforts since then to revive and reconnect the parts of a disintegrating city. It charts the city’s fall in the 1980s, its gradual normalisation in the 90s, its attempt to become a premier  European city in the first part of this century and its efforts to be ambitious in an age of austerity.

It asks:  How far has Liverpool come and where does it now stand now in comparison with 30 years ago – and also in comparison to other big cities in the UK? What were the most important forces driving change? Who helped most and least – local politicians, business, community leaders, national politicians, government, Europe? Who gained most and least – which people and which places? Finally it asks – what’s next for Liverpool?

It identifies the key economic, social and political challenges facing the city – increasing productivity, spreading the befits of renaissance to all people in the city and making sure the city’s development is both high quality and authentic. It spells out who needs to do what better to address them – government, the leaders and people of Liverpool.

PROFESSOR MICHAEL PARKINSON CBE

Michael is Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for civic engagement at the University of Liverpool. Michael has acted as adviser on urban affairs to the European Commission, the European Parliament, OECD, EUROCITIES, the Department of Communities and Local Government, the National Audit Office, the House of Commons Select Committees, the Core Cities and a range of cities in the UK and Europe.  He served as a Board member of the Prime Minister’s Regeneration Investment Organisation and a Trustee of the Centre for Cities. He is currently a trustee of Alternative Futures Group and of Procure Plus Group. He was a member of the Liverpool Commonwealth Games 2022 Bid Project Board and is a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Board on Liverpool’s World Heritage Status.  Michael led CLG’s expert panel on Regeneration and Economic Development Analysis until 2010.  He was Director of the ESRC’s Programme on CITIES: Cohesion and Competitiveness, a major five-year research programme involving 25 Universities.  He has generated over £8m in research funds to assess the development of cities, urban policy and regeneration in the UK and Europe. He lectures extensively nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to the media. He was made Commander of the British Empire for services to urban regeneration in 2007. He was made Citizen of Honour of Liverpool in 2016.

Michael wrote ‘Liverpool on the Brink’ in 1985. His career has been partly devoted to showing how much the city has changed for the better since then! He recently produced ‘Albert Dock: What Part in Liverpool’s Continuing Renaissance?’ (2017), ‘Liverpool’s Elected Mayor: An Independent Assessment’ (2016) and ‘The State of Liverpool City Region: Making the Most of Devolution.’ (2016). Previously he produced for the ESRC a major report ‘UK City Regions in the Boom and Recession’ (2014) and for the European Commission ‘Second Tier Cities in Europe: In an Age of Austerity Why Invest beyond the Capitals?’ (2012) He completed in 2010 a major study of the impact of the recession ’The Credit Crunch, Recession, Regeneration, and the North’.  This updated his original report to government in 2009   ‘The Credit Crunch and Regeneration: Impact and Implications.’ He produced the ‘State of the English Cities’ in 2006 for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – the authoritative analysis of cities in Britain.

Menu

Starter

Salad of Prosciutto and compressed melon with port, apple puree, bread wafer

Main Course

Roast loin of Cod, fricassee of seafood, fluted carrots in orange

Served with croquette potato, tender stem broccoli

Dessert

Vanilla pannacotta, berry compot