William Eichler 03 October 2016

Northern powerhouse agenda at ‘fork in the road’

The northern powerhouse is at a ‘fork in the road’ and requires more ‘local leadership’ to succeed, says Lord Kerslake.

Speaking at a Conservative conference fringe meeting, the president of the Local Government Association (LGA) called for more leadership in the public and private sector to maintain the momentum behind the Northern Powerhouse.

Despite widespread speculation Theresa May’s Government was backing away from George Osborne’s flagship policy, Lord Kerslake welcomed the prime minister’s assurances the powerhouse has not been abandoned.

The LGA president stressed more investment in infrastructure was essential to improve connectivity between northern regions and the rest of the country - adding this meant more than ‘just HS2’.

Highlighting the fact the north used to be the industrial powerhouse of the country, Lord Kerslake said the northern powerhouse agenda should be closely linked to the Government’s industrial strategy to encourage the revival of industry in the area.

He also stressed the north was built thanks to industrial innovations. As an example to illustrate this point, he pointed to the history of steel manufacturing in his home town of Sheffield.

Relating to the topic of innovations, Lord Kerslake noted the north ‘underperforms’ in basic and specialist skills and said more needs to be done to address this.

Ben Harrison, a representative of the think tank Centre for Cities and another panelist at the meeting, questioned a number of the assumptions underpinning Lord Kerslake’s presentation.

He said there was ‘no such thing as the north’, stressing it was not a single economic unit comparable to London, but rather a diverse region.

In order for the powerhouse agenda to succeed, he said, Government had to build on the regions economic strengths while also acknowledging its weaknesses and adjusting policy to deal with these.

Mr Harrison agreed that the north’s skills gap had to be closed and said the areas city had to catch up with their European counterparts and start ‘punching their weight’.

However, he also emphasised that just because the north used to be an industrial powerhouse, there was no reason it had to be again. It was important, he said, that the area focus on becoming a modern economy.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Team Manager

Wakefield Council
£57,770.00, Grade 13
To play a key role in delivering high quality services and meeting performance targets for field work. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council

Operational Director - Landlord Services

Ealing London Borough Council
up to £135k
At Ealing, our mission is clear
Recuriter: Ealing London Borough Council

Assistant Director - Asset Management

Ealing London Borough Council
up to £110k
At Ealing, our mission is clear
Recuriter: Ealing London Borough Council

School Crossing Patrol

Durham County Council
Grade 1 £4,887.12 (approx.) £12.85 per hour
Join our School Crossing Patrol Service! Are you punctual and reliable? Do you have good communication skills and a strong sense of community spirit? Peterlee
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Peatland Project Support Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 9 £35,412 to £39,152 per annum
We are seeking to fill a Peatland Support Officer position to support the North Pennines National Landscape’s peatland work. This opportunity is ideal Stanhope
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner