Did a summer internship there last year for MHCLG, fantastic culture, very friendly and lots of learning opportunities. And darlo is a surprisingly decent city.
I understand why excluding the south bank of Humber is something you may do because it’s neat because of the combined authority geography, but government are going to review that in this Parliament.
arguing Scunthorpe isn’t in the North is not something that is ever going to work for me. It doesn’t correspond to the functional economic geography as Grimsby has more in common with Hull than the Deepings (which are basically in Peterborough)
Love that this was the first comment I received - it wouldn’t be a post about the North without some controversy on where the North ends!
Fair point on the economics - though guess there are other part of the Midlands that are also more in the Northern orbit. Had to draw line somewhere and suppose I’ve gone for the political/historic one.
This was always something I battled with when I was running Jason Stockwood’s campaign for Mayor. Grimsby felt a million miles away from south of Lincolnshire - many places that positioned themselves as just slightly north of London! Just didn’t make sense to me.
Looking forward to this JP. I am clear on what the government’s agenda is for the “Ox-Cam Arc” and they are pushing ahead with East-West Rail between the two varsity cities. But what is their agenda for the north of England? And what is happening with NPR?
Thanks Tom! My view is that the government has made a good start with the announcements on devo (particularly aiming to get 100% coverage in the North) and changes to spending patterns but obviously there is more to be done. In particular on NPR and the North in general, following the mention at the SR and if reports in the YP and the Times this week are true, then we should be hearing more after recess. 🤞
I agree there is some good policy here JP, but the politics is falling short in terms of conveying a positive ambition and narrative about the north of England.
For example, why go big on Ox-Cam arc without a similar ambition for what Jim O’Neil calls ManSheffLeedsPool? It is not as if there is not a huge body of work, policy thinking and evidence behind this concept?
Or why commit to taking forward The Long Term Plan for Towns but in rebadging it as Plan for Neighbourhoods take all the ooomph and excitement out of it?
Or why in the mini-budget cancel the big culture projects in Leeds, York and Liverpool only to begrudgingly reinstate them later?
Why cancel MML electrification and remove HS2 East safeguarding without setting out any long-term ambition for improving connectivity on W Mids - E Mids - SY - WY corridor?
And as for universities Global Talent Fund allocation, that is not just bad policy, it is bad politics. Why did nobody say “hold on a minute why is it that not a single institution in England north of Birmingham is benefitting”?
Great work, optimism is so very important to making sure that North England can win!
Congrats on the DEC, it's a wonderful place to work.
Glad you like it! Do you work there?
Did a summer internship there last year for MHCLG, fantastic culture, very friendly and lots of learning opportunities. And darlo is a surprisingly decent city.
A really important issue - enjoyed the first post and looking forward to your Substack.
Thanks Peter!
Looking forward to reading your insights.
Thanks! Let me know if there are any particular topics you think I should look into!
Awesome
I understand why excluding the south bank of Humber is something you may do because it’s neat because of the combined authority geography, but government are going to review that in this Parliament.
arguing Scunthorpe isn’t in the North is not something that is ever going to work for me. It doesn’t correspond to the functional economic geography as Grimsby has more in common with Hull than the Deepings (which are basically in Peterborough)
Love that this was the first comment I received - it wouldn’t be a post about the North without some controversy on where the North ends!
Fair point on the economics - though guess there are other part of the Midlands that are also more in the Northern orbit. Had to draw line somewhere and suppose I’ve gone for the political/historic one.
This was always something I battled with when I was running Jason Stockwood’s campaign for Mayor. Grimsby felt a million miles away from south of Lincolnshire - many places that positioned themselves as just slightly north of London! Just didn’t make sense to me.
Looking forward to this JP. I am clear on what the government’s agenda is for the “Ox-Cam Arc” and they are pushing ahead with East-West Rail between the two varsity cities. But what is their agenda for the north of England? And what is happening with NPR?
Thanks Tom! My view is that the government has made a good start with the announcements on devo (particularly aiming to get 100% coverage in the North) and changes to spending patterns but obviously there is more to be done. In particular on NPR and the North in general, following the mention at the SR and if reports in the YP and the Times this week are true, then we should be hearing more after recess. 🤞
I agree there is some good policy here JP, but the politics is falling short in terms of conveying a positive ambition and narrative about the north of England.
For example, why go big on Ox-Cam arc without a similar ambition for what Jim O’Neil calls ManSheffLeedsPool? It is not as if there is not a huge body of work, policy thinking and evidence behind this concept?
Or why commit to taking forward The Long Term Plan for Towns but in rebadging it as Plan for Neighbourhoods take all the ooomph and excitement out of it?
Or why in the mini-budget cancel the big culture projects in Leeds, York and Liverpool only to begrudgingly reinstate them later?
Why cancel MML electrification and remove HS2 East safeguarding without setting out any long-term ambition for improving connectivity on W Mids - E Mids - SY - WY corridor?
And as for universities Global Talent Fund allocation, that is not just bad policy, it is bad politics. Why did nobody say “hold on a minute why is it that not a single institution in England north of Birmingham is benefitting”?