An in-depth attempt to explain nearly five years of levelling up funds: what they are, why they are, and why people have been so unhappy with them

With ⁦Amy Borrett⁩ and ⁦Anna Gross⁩

(The first in a 4-part series about levelling up)
on.ft.com/3Ux0AYE

'If you take the politics out of it for just a second, this is very sensible stuff.'

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership's Henri Murison tells Shelagh Fogarty that Labour's pledge to renationalise most rail services within five years is 'a very technocratic and compelling idea'.

Looking forward to joining Carole Walker later on her programme alongside Nigel Harris with analysis of what Louise Haigh rail reform proposals mean for passengers & freight.

For anyone following electoral race or policy on #Teesside this is huge development

Steve previously was involved in STDC in its initial phase, negotiated to get steelworks back from the Thai banks & so his view on the sitting Mayor is not from a long-standing critic or sceptic

The Press Awards Henri Murison Financial Times Jennifer Williams 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Congratulations from all of us The Northern Powerhouse Partnership to Jennifer Williams on her win The Press Awards

The British national media landscape would be much diminished without dedicated northern correspondents included her at Financial Times, The Times and The Sunday Times #SundayTimes The Guardian i newspaper & broadcasters

Congratulations to The #PressAwards Broadsheet Feature Writer of the Year category winner Jennifer Williams / Financial Times

Jaya Chakrabarti DSc hc MBE Bristol City Council Andrew Carter Heather Stewart Newcastle University Peter Foster angus horner Final panel Andrew Kelly chairs with Muniya Barua, Diane Coyle, Henri Murison & Darren Jones MP talk about how the next government could “do devolution better” #BristolIdeas

At Bristol Ideas Festival Flourishing Regions panel talking #fiscaldevo talking equalisation mechanisms & council tax reform Philip Rycroft

my personal favourite of tourism tax gets a shout out along with property transaction tax

Heather Stewart Jane Robinson Andrew Carter

Northener on tour in the lovely #Bristol

Bristol Ideas for Festival of Flourishing Regions later

Business West Watershed

How depressing to spin the cancellation of a capital project that would increase the future economic capacity of the country to pay for a backlog of underinvestment in the nation's fabric

Good to see the Financial Times taking such a strong & thoughtful position on #Devo

Labour have said they would hand new powers to mayors. But in Greater Manchester, many of those powers have already been handed down. So what would a Labour government actually mean for Greater Manchester? Manchester News MEN
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-m…

On almost every metric levelling up is failing. Partly because the way it was designed was never going to work. theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/a…

EXC: The Conservatives have made no progress on half the levelling up targets they set for themselves. Part one in our series on how levelling up - which could have been the great project of this parliament - fell flat. theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/a…

Read Kiran Stacey

Britain’s levelling up agenda was stymied from the very start

Meg Hillier MP Chair Public Accounts Committee, John Stevenson MP Chair Northern Research Group (NRG), Greg Clark former Business & Levelling Up Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Angela Rayner 🌹 & me for The Northern Powerhouse Partnership

theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/a…

Called for this last week. Thanks Huw Merriman MP who did it this week.

Credit to Manchester Airport, AG Transport & our many other members Inc Arup UK Arcadis UK Mott MacDonald Bruntwood who consistently made the case for gap in #NPR caused by decisions last October to be dealt with

The commitment #fullfat #Devo The Yorkshire Post by Mason Boycott-Owen tomorrow

It is 10 years since George Osborne gave current party of govt a plan for #North . But it has been dropped as a policy since

The official opposition is giving its own alternative with #devo still central

More on Hitachi from Henri Murison:

“Although it is a major employer, Hitachi has not called for special treatment.

“With a proper strategy, there should be enough work to keep the UK investing, innovating, manufacturing & sustaining local jobs.”

thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24213160.…

Yesterday I talked to BBC North East about currently challenges facing Hitachi Rail (ENG)

Unlike some other businesses elsewhere in UK there has never been an argument for anything but full & fair competition here, but feast & famine has caused boom and bust in rail manufacturing