There is more shopping in three streets in London than in Birmingham and Manchester combined

Prospect magazine’s In Fact column always contains some thought provoking numbers. This month, I was particularly struck by this statistic:

“The annual retail spend of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street is £5.5bn—more than Manchester and Birmingham.”

On one level, this is testament to the importance of clusters. But it is also a sign of just how dominant in the UK London is; something that is not particularly healthy for the country as a whole.