LONDON BRIEFING: It sometimes takes an outsider's view to see ourselves in a proper light. I have written extensively about the UK's economic renaissance but even I was struck by a recent article in the US magazine BusinessWeek entitled "An Amazing Job Machine" that lauded the UK's ability to create jobs to the point where its economy now has the lowest unemployment rate in the G7 group of countries (4.8 per cent), writes Chris Johns

Northerners often deride "effete southerners who have never been north of Watford" and I have to admit that I have never been to Leeds. Outside of London, Leeds has created more jobs over the past 20 years than any other British city and contributes over £10 billion (€14.8 billion) of GDP to the UK's total. A lot of those jobs have been in financial services, evidence that the success of the City of London - now the world's biggest and most important financial centre - is spreading to the regions.

The UK's property boom has been in full swing in many northern towns and cities. Investment is booming, and not just in construction and house building. Warren Buffett, one of the US's most famous investors, has recently lauded (and bought) Yorkshire Electricity and Northern Electric as spectacular privatisation success stories supplying 3.7 million customers to make them the UK's third-largest electricity utility. When Northern and Yorkshire were first brought to market 14 years ago, they had 6,800 employees, compared with 2,500 today. Yet the number of customers has stayed roughly the same and the amount of electricity generated has risen.

The usual suspects appear on most analysts' lists of success factors. Flexible labour markets, relatively low taxation and a lighter regulatory touch are often cited. Of course, it is these advantages, and the threat of their erosion, that will figure in the great European debate that will accompany the forthcoming constitutional referendum.

One of the many ways in which the UK sometimes looks more like the US than a typical EU economy is its approach to the regulation of utilities. The active presence of venture capital and private-equity groups also differs from similar activities on the continent. The way in which an enlightened regulatory regime can interact with modern capitalism can be seen with current speculation surrounding a possible break-up of telecom giant BT. There are rumours that BT will be forced by the regulator, Ofcom, to break itself into two businesses, splitting the retail and wholesale sides of the business.

BT's competitors often complain that Britain's largest telecom company makes life difficult for other operators because of the control it exerts over the business, making it tough to win over customers. The government has criticised BT for its slowness in opening up the country to broadband and, more generally, the efforts it makes to block competitor access to the infrastructure necessary to support new businesses. Ofcom has just told BT that it must reduce broadband access charges.

Private equity giants such as Apax and Permira are reported to be thinking of tabling a bid for BT's national telecoms network and are likely to be emboldened by suggestions that Ofcom could force BT into such a sale. The deal could be worth around £15 billion and is likely to be welcomed by the City, as a split BT could be much more efficient than its current "sluggish giant" structure. Having seen how privatisation and deregulation can work well - for customers and shareholders - few people in the UK have the visceral hatred of market-based solutions so endemic elsewhere.

The fact that so many of the old utilities have shed so much labour is no longer seen as a social or political obstacle, as more than enough jobs have been created elsewhere. The spread of economic vitality to regions that many people thought were in terminal decline is one of the most positive aspects of the recent growth story.

This new-found confidence in the UK's ability to welcome and successfully manage change is the most remarkable aspect of the new economic and political landscape. The supposed threat from outsourcing has attracted some attention but nowhere near as hysterical a response as in other parts of the world. That's confidence for you.