Michael Spence, president of UCL, describes London’s Knowledge Quarter as a dense cluster where researchers, entrepreneurs and clinicians mingle, driving innovation that benefits the whole UK.

He argues that the city’s edge comes from its universities, hospitals and world‑class labs. Jim O’Neill warns that the government must back these places if the UK wants innovation‑led growth. Spence stresses that decentralising power should not erode London’s status as a global innovation hub.

The article notes that regions like Manchester and the Oxford‑Cambridge corridor already receive investment, but London’s biomedical centres, AI labs and creative industries generate breakthroughs that flow nationwide. Spence calls for explicit support of major clusters so that their growth spreads across the country, avoiding a situation where every city merely survives but never scales.