If nothing else, special economic zones (SEZs) are resilient. Spatial zoning – offering tax incentives, simplified regulations and other benefits to attract inward investment and deliver growth – have been a mainstay in central government policy in the UK since the 1980s and have survived the turbulent transitions from Boris Johnson's Levelling Up agenda all the way through to today.

SEZs can be diverse in actual policy form – although most readers will recognise their current incarnations: freeports, greenports, investment zones and enterprise zones – but they all have a shared aim to stimulate local economies, thus offering a potential lifeline to many local authorities who struggle to find ways to do so.