Devolution offers real opportunity, but it also carries a risk: that place becomes generic. Newcastle’s future must be shaped from within; rooted in its identity, culture, and lived experience, not borrowed frameworks or interchangeable language.
As we see an increasing number of posts and messages from Newcastle and North East delegates confirming they will attend UKREiiF in Leeds later this month, one thing is becoming increasingly clear to me as a former leader of the city council. In a highly competitive landscape for investment, talent, and opportunity, the way cities present themselves and the narratives they build around place, matters more than ever. That perspective is shaped by my experience initiating and leading key city strategies, including the first Inclusive Economic Strategy, the drive for Music City, an International Strategy, and the establishment of the Shaping the City vision group.
There is growing momentum behind English devolution, and that is welcome. After decades of decisions being taken too far from the places they affect, bringing power closer to communities is long overdue. But devolution alone does not create vision. It does not define identity, purpose, or direction. Those must come from the place itself.
In Newcastle, that distinction matters more than most.
I am proud to call myself an adopted Geordie. Newcastle is not just where we live; it is where we belong.
When I became council leader, I found a city full of potential but lacking a unifying strategy. We tried to change that. We worked across sectors and communities to develop a shared direction: the city’s first Inclusive Economic Strategy, its first Anti-Poverty Strategy, and a Joint International Strategy with Gateshead. These were not abstract documents or externally imposed frameworks. They were rooted in the lived reality of the city, and in a shared belief that Newcastle should define its own future.
Because no other place can tell our story.
Identity and definition
Newcastle’s identity is not abstract: it is lived, spoken, and felt every day.
It is present in the way people talk to one another in the street, in humour that carries both resilience and warmth, and in a civic pride that runs through communities whether they are on the coast, in the valleys, or in the heart of the city.
It is also a place shaped by making things; physically and culturally. From shipbuilding and engineering to medical science, education, and digital industries, Newcastle has long been a city that turns ideas into reality.
But equally important is its cultural life. Music, writing, performance, and storytelling are not separate from the city’s identity, they are part of its infrastructure. The Ouseburn, the Tyne, the universities, the grassroots venues, and the civic spaces all contribute to a cultural ecosystem that has shaped generations.
The Geordie dialect itself carries meaning beyond language. It signals belonging, shared experience, and identity. It is one of the clearest expressions of place anywhere in the UK.
Newcastle is not generic. It is distinct, confident, and layered in its identity, and that matters profoundly when thinking about its future.
Generic visions will not do
That is why I read the recent council statement on the city’s future with reflection. It spoke of a place “where people live healthy, happy, and successful lives” and I agree with the sentiment. But it raises an important question: how do we ensure Newcastle remains visible and distinct within that ambition?
Because in truth, that description could apply to almost any city in the world.
At MIPIM, Newcastle was described as the “friendliest city in the UK.” It is well-meaning, but it sits within a much wider pattern. More than 100 cities globally have at some point described themselves as “the friendliest city in the world.” Taken together, these examples show how easily place identity can drift into interchangeable language: phrases that could belong almost anywhere rather than reflecting what truly makes a city distinct.
The risk is not in positivity, but in substitution. When every place begins to sound the same, the emotional connection between people and place weakens. Identity becomes blurred. And with that, something essential is lost: the sense of belonging that underpins civic confidence.
Devolution is a major opportunity, but it is not a strategy in itself. Nor should it become the framework that defines what a city is or aspires to be.
The future of Newcastle must be led by Newcastle itself. Not by templates, not by comparisons with other cities, and not by frameworks that could be lifted and dropped anywhere else in the country.
Devolution should give us tools, flexibility, and autonomy, but it cannot provide the vision.
A strategy for this city must therefore come from its culture, economy, history, and aspirations. It must reflect how Newcastle is actually lived, not how it is described in policy documents or investment brochures.
Because without that grounding, strategy risks becoming detached: technocratic rather than human, abstract rather than lived. And Newcastle has never been a place that fits neatly into other people’s categories.
It is defined not just by what it produces, but by how it feels to those who call it home.
Newcastle: Bold, not bland
This is not about nostalgia. It is about confidence.
Newcastle must continue to lead with courage, care, and creativity.
The task now is to ensure that as opportunity increases; through devolution, investment, and national attention, the city does not lose the clarity of its own voice.
Let us be bold. Let us root strategy in identity, language, and ambition. Let us tell the city’s story in its own voice.
Newcastle is not just a place. It is a way of thinking, speaking, and being.
Newcastle: Powered by People. Shaped by Story. Built on Boldness.
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