The Midlands and the North are struggling as half of latest jobs go to London

More than half of the new jobs will go to London while the rest of the country competes for what’s left, a major new study warned.

The huge wealth gap between London and the rest of the country will only worsen if drastic measures are not taken, researchers found.

And they called on the government to set up an annual £ 10 billion “renewal fund” to invest in the North and Midlands.

The results will be published in a report by the UK2070 commission chaired by Lord Kerslake, former head of public service.

He said: “There is no logical reason why people and places in one part of Britain do worse than others. There is enormous untapped potential, especially in the regions, and we have to put the structures and resources in the right places to unlock it. “

Members of the commission are academics from the Universities of Cardiff, Manchester and Liverpool and local leaders from the North and Midlands. This included Julia Goldsworthy, strategy director for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

In his capacity as civil servant, Lord Kerslake led an investigation into the problems faced by Birmingham City Council.

The report warned: “There is a huge gap between the best and worst performing regions and cities in the UK.”