BIRKENHEAD and Liverpool are among the UK's top 20 economically struggling cities, according to research.

A new report shows ten of the UK’s 12 towns and cities in greatest economic decline are in the North.

Not a single town from the South of England is among the worst 24 listed.  The far-reaching review says civic leaders must use their new powers given under chancellor George Osborne's "devolution" agenda to redress the balance.

Wirral signed up to the Northern Powerhouse devolution initiative last November.

It came with the proviso an elected "metro mayor" of Merseyside must be in place to oversee the transfer of powers from Westminster.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation research group's study – Uneven growth: tackling city decline - shows Rochdale, Burnley, Bolton, Blackburn and Hull lead the list of places caught in a downward spiral of low employment and population growth.

Birkenhead is ranked 18th and Liverpool is in 19th place.

The foundation examined the economic fortunes of 74 British towns with populations of more than 100,000, focusing on employment rates, numbers of highly qualified workers and migration rates.

The findings show growth in many northern cities was lagging significantly behind national levels.

In a submission ahead of next month's Budget, the foundation said the Treasury could create financial incentives for councils to tackle unemployment.

Josh Stott, policy and research manager at Joseph Rowntree, said: "Britain has the potential to become a more prosperous country, with George Osborne's Northern Powerhouse playing a key role in rebalancing the economy.

"But it must reach all parts of the North to ensure prosperity is shared.

"To rebalance the economy and ensure local growth provides opportunity for all households, the Treasury needs to ensure areas outside of core cities are not left behind.

"City leaders, with a new suite of powers at their disposal, must also show leadership to do their part to ensure growth and prosperity is shared by all.

"If the commitment to rebalancing in the UK is meaningful then greater policy attention and resources by central and local government needs to be focused upon the particular needs of these cities lagging behind."

Wirral Council leader Cllr Phil Davies said: "We've recently announced details of a growth plan for the area and I’m confident that will help to turn Birkenhead into the most attractive town in the Northern Powerhouse for inward investment.

"We are already well advanced on a number of priority schemes worth more than £150m that are set to go live in 2016.

"These include plans for the regeneration of Woodside and rejuvenation of Downtown Birkenhead, new projects in Wirral Waters including housing and waterfront developments, and improvements to Birkenhead Market and the retail and leisure offer in the town.

"Under the Wirral Growth Plan, which we presented to cabinet in February, we aim to attract £250m of new private sector investment into Wirral by 2020, create 250 new businesses, generate and safeguard 5,000 jobs, and build 3,500 new homes.

"Birkenhead is ideally placed to help us deliver this plan. Where else can investors get UNESCO World Heritage views, a working port and dock system, award winning schools and colleges and a local authority with a proven track record of supporting business?"

Andy Pike, co-author of the report and professor of local and regional development in the centre for urban and regional development studies at Newcastle University, said: "Many cities in the North are growing but are failing to keep up with national trends."

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "The Northern Powerhouse will transform our great northern cities and rebalance the economy, having already helped create record employment rates and getting more than 440,000 people into work since 2010.

"So far we have secured a host of devolution deals, and invested in transport, science and the arts across the region, backed by more than £4 billion of new funding from central Government.

"We want to harness the North's massive potential to drive the UK's economy, and its prospects make it a lucrative place to invest and live."

The 24 cities with the highest scores on index of relative decline:

1 Rochdale

2 Burnley  

3 Bolton 

4 Blackburn 

5 Hull 

6 Grimsby

7 Dundee

8 Middlesbrough

9 Bradford 

10 Blackpool 

11 Stoke

12 Wigan

13 Nottingham

14 Huddersfield

15 Sunderland 

16 Glasgow

17 Belfast

18 Birkenhead

19 Liverpool

20 Newport

21 Sheffield

22 Barnsley

23 Telford

24 Birmingham