Excitement was etched on the faces of regional leaders in Leeds as eight northern mayors shared the stage to launch The Great North.
Taking inspiration and some branding from the Great North Run, mayors stretching from Liverpool to the North East and everywhere in between spoke about this new project and what it will mean for the 15 million residents in the North of England. After speeches from the North East Mayor, the Deputy Prime Minister and the founder of the Great North Run, regional mayors took to the stage for a Q&A.
The event aims to unlock the North’s economic potential in key sectors including clean energy, defence and advanced manufacturing, as well as creative industries. The new organisation is set to lead international trade missions on pan-Northern investment propositions.
As all eight northern metro mayors answered questions, with multiple touching on how this project was going to be different to past schemes that were devised to benefit the North, as The Great North was not being imposed by those in the Westminster “bubble”, but instead has been designed by those who live, breathe and understand the North.
The Great North
Heading up The Great North is North East Mayor Kim McGuinness. At the event, she spoke of national journalists who get on a train from London, visit the North and “tell half-a-story about under-investment and run down places”, before returning to their “bubble”. She added: “Rarely, do they stick around for the pride that people feel and the ambition that we have in the North. That half-a-story isn’t our future. This is the land of opportunity, where creativity and growth thrive, our nation needs the North to realise our potential and to be a success story.”
Sir Brendan Foster, founder of the Great North Run, has worked alongside Kim McGuinness in the curation of this project. He spoke to the auditorium in Leeds, asserting that “the time is now” to hand over the brand Great North to northern regional mayors in order “to power the North of England’s economy, to use the brand to benefit, to cash in on the value of the brand, which has great understanding, great community spirit behind it, great vision behind it, great joy when you think about it and see it.”
He said: “That brand powers the run, I’d like to think could power the North to an even better place. So, it was ours, we’re handing it over,” adding: “if you can take the brand and make it work for the North of England, the people made it, let’s give it back to them to use it.”
Deputy Prime Minister comment
While she didn’t speak to the media, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner made an appearance. Addressing the assembled mayors, she said: “As a team, you’re making sure that no one feels they must leave the North to have a good life and a great career and that’s the spirit that we want to see and grow.
“With The Great North, your collective voice will only get louder, and thanks to devolution and our plan for change, you’re getting the tools and the funding your communities need to write their own stories and success. You’re making the North a powerhouse for the whole country.” She added: “Our message is clear, when the North thrives, the whole country thrives.”
Ben Houchen Comment
During the Q&A, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “I think one of the things that we are already picking up from The Great North is we took responsibility from day one rather than waiting for government to sort themselves out, we get on and do stuff. And I think the really powerful thing about The Great North is we haven’t waited to ask permission for it.”
He said that collectively, the mayors had decided what to do, and there is a vision for what The Great North should be over the next decade and as such, there is a greater level of accountability and responsibility to follow through.
In the Q&A, Mayor Houchen was asked by host, Nihal Arthanayake, about clean energy and the “experience” of the Tees Valley.
He said: “Irrespective of the tectonic plates shifting in North America politically, and to some extent in the UK, actually clean energy, as part of an energy mix, is important. You know, the investors that I speak to, they need reliable energy, first and foremost. Secondly, they need it to be affordable, right, and then that gets into this conflict with net zero, clean energy.”
He added that while this conflict exists “to some extent”, businesses also want a pathway to clean energy over the next five to 10 years, with Mayor Houchen explaining that businesses say: “How do we go from, grid energy, which is a mixture of a lot of things, into clean decarbonised energy?”
As he continued to answer, the Tees Valley mayor’s focus on jobs became clear. “In places like mine, the net zero story is second, what comes first is economic growth, jobs, pride that you are delivering something of scale that can be exported to the rest of the world and also therefore money in your pockets, so you can look after your family and you can help rebuild communities.” He reiterated while net zero and jobs aren’t in conflict, the latter was certainly the priority.
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