Midlands faces mass exodus as workers migrate

Universal connectivity is going to transform the population map of the UK according to ’Connected Britain’, a new research report from Orange. The South West of England could see a population increase of more than 150% by 2015 as universal access to reliable and fast internet - as outlined in the Government’s Digital Britain report - allows more people the flexibility to live and work in a place of their choosing. London would retain its place as a top location with a 40% increase predicted, while Scotland could see a population jump of more than 50% as workers head North.

Some areas of the country, including the East and West Midlands and parts of the North will become less congested as many workers from those regions opt instead for the coasts or mountains. Major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester could see as much as an 80% decrease in residents.

Region Population change+
Scotland up 58%
North East down 35%
North West down 9.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber down 35%
West Midlands down 81%
East Midlands down 70%
Wales up 5%
South West up 158%
South East down 3%
London up 40%

The cities where significant increases in new residents are anticipated, such as Scotland and the South West of England, could present new opportunities for local businesses as demand for their services increases, not to mention savvy property developers and owners, could see increased demand for residential and commercial properties.

The report, which included a survey of 3,281 office workers from the UK also revealed that UK business could save up to £31.7 billion by giving employees the ability to work more flexibly. In addition, 16% of respondents would be happy to take a pay cut (on average £6,900) and 42% would be willing to give up perks such as a company car or private health insurance (33%).

“Much like the industrial revolution, the digital revolution we are currently going through will forever change the way we all lead our lives. Not just from a social perspective, but the way we work and the places we can work from. The long-entrenched domination of the South East in Britain’s economic structure could at last be coming to a close, with many workers wanted to trade their city lives to work from more rural and idyllic parts of the country. Our report reveals that a digitally connected country could change the face of Britain as we know it,” said Robert Ainger, Director of Corporate Marketing, Orange UK.

“Universal connectivity is already having a huge impact on our lives,” said Futurologist James Bellini. “Our research shows that already 39% of people are able to work some or all of the time from a location of their choice and employees are increasingly realising that they can be just as productive working from home or on the move. As connectivity across Britain increases, so too will mobile working, making the traditional office almost obsolete. In fact, by 2020, a successful and forward-looking business will have no HQ, probably no CEO and only a fraction of the fixed assets it has today."