Earlier this month, the Great North; a pan-Northern initiative initiated by the North East mayor – lobbied the Chancellor, calling for investment and influence across the North. On paper, it presents a unified Northern voice. But for the North East, the pattern is familiar: even when the region has already delivered transformative outcomes, its priorities risk being overshadowed by the agendas of Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds. 

Through the North East Mayoral Combined Authority, the region has secured Trailblazer status, the largest devolution financial deal of any combined authority, and the Green Superport, a unique opportunity for local growth and UK-wide impact. These are concrete examples of what place-based, focused leadership can achieve, yet in the Great North framework the North East risks being positioned as secondary.

The North East is a region of distinctive strength. Its geography, industrial base, cultural institutions, and academic excellence, combined with a history of innovation and societal impact, give it the capacity to set the agenda, lead decisively, and define its own priorities.

What the region needs now is leadership that is focused, strategic, and unapologetically ambitious; leaders who recognise the North East’s potential and refuse to settle for a secondary role in someone else’s vision of the North. When applied effectively, this approach secures tangible economic and social gains locally while delivering benefits nationally.

The problem with pan-northern frameworks

Despite its strengths, the North East has too often seen its influence diluted within broader Northern initiatives. The Northern Powerhouse, the Convention of the North, and now the Great North repeatedly prioritise Greater Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds, leaving the North East on the periphery. 

Even initiatives originating from the North East, like the Great North, can inadvertently undermine the region’s influence. This raises a fundamental question: why do North East leaders continue to participate in frameworks that diminish the region’s visibility and strategic priorities? 

The interim North East Mayoral Combined Authority demonstrated exactly what coherent, decisive, and collaborative leadership can deliver. Through strategic negotiation, the cabinet – composed of political leaders from differing persuasions working for the betterment of the North East  achieved:

• The largest devolution financial deal secured by any combined authority in the UK.
• Trailblazer status, providing the region with early access to devolved powers and enabling long-term strategic planning. 
• The Green Superport, a uniquely North East initiative offering enormous potential for local growth, innovation, and national economic benefits.

The Green Superport exemplifies what focused, place-based leadership can deliver. It is not merely symbolic; it is a platform through which the North East can drive trade, innovation, and economic growth, leveraging its ports, industrial capacity, and skilled workforce. Paired with Trailblazer status and the devolution deal, these successes laid the foundations for future leaders to build upon. 

This record shows that the North East does not need pan-Northern umbrellas to succeed – when political leaders collaborate with clarity, determination, and shared purpose, the region can set the agenda and secure outcomes that benefit both local communities and the UK.

Why the “Great North” model is economically flawed

Beyond politics, pan-northern frameworks also raise serious economic questions:

• Unequal economic gravity: Aggregating regions reinforces the dominance of already-strong economies like Manchester and Liverpool, leaving the North East peripheral. 
• Different structural challenges: Slower population growth, post-industrial decline, and high youth unemployment make the North East’s economy distinct, requiring tailored interventions.
• One size does not fit all: Economists argue that framing development as “north vs south” obscures the fact that regional economic performance is driven by local clusters, sectoral strengths, and urban networks. Generic Northern strategies fail to leverage the North East’s distinct energy, port, and industrial assets. 
• Opportunity costs: Resources invested in generic pan-northern branding could be better spent on targeted, high-impact initiatives that grow local jobs, productivity, and innovation. 

In short, both politically and economically, the Great North risks undermining the very successes the North East has already achieved.

If the North East has demonstrated its ability to secure transformative deals and projects – from the Green Superport to Trailblazer status and record-breaking devolution funding – why continue to dilute this focus by subsuming it into broader Northern initiatives?

Genuinely addressing the inequalities and opportunities of the North East requires leaders who will demand clarity, negotiate directly, and refuse to accept a secondary role. Until this question is confronted, structural imbalance will persist, and the North East will remain peripheral even in initiatives it helped create. 

The North East should continue to support wider Northern cooperation, but cooperation must never come at the expense of its own agenda. The region has already demonstrated that coherent, targeted, and strategic leadership works. The challenge is to protect that autonomy and maximise the potential of unique assets like the Green Superport.

Engagement in pan-northern frameworks should be selective, strategic, and always in service of the North East’s priorities, not as a vehicle for someone else’s agenda.

The recent lobbying of the Chancellor by the Great North is a reminder: narratives can drift away unless the North East asserts itself unapologetically. What the region needs is clarity of purpose, strong leadership, and unwavering commitment to putting the North East first. 

The question facing the country is no longer whether it can afford to invest in the North East. The question is whether it can afford not to.

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