Transforming our region with full employment

I’m old enough to remember Norman Tebbit telling the British public to get on your bike and look for work – like his old man had done in the 1930s.  He was Employment Secretary at the time, speaking to Conservative Party conference in 1981. 

We’d seen riots in Brixton and Toxteth. Riots that had their roots in unemployment, deprivation and racial disadvantage. The Tories were in power, blaming immigrants and trade unions, and inflation was running at over 10%.  Sound familiar? 

Full employment means a secure, well-paid job for everyone who wants one. That means more job creation, more access to training for workers, and a better transport system so people can access the jobs wherever they live.

Of course, not everyone can work, and our benefits system needs to stop trapping people in poverty. That needs change in central government.

Full employment used to be a core policy of the Labour movement. There are currently 68,725 people unemployed in the North East, and many more ‘economically inactive’.  And 25% of all those in employment are in insecure, zero-hours, or temporary work, including bogus self-employment.

There will inevitably be what economists call frictional unemployment – where people are between jobs for a month or two, or after leaving education.  But we can eliminate mismatch unemployment – that’s where there are jobs available, but people’s skills or life circumstances don’t match what employers need. 

Better transport will help – I know of young people in Blyth who had to turn down jobs in Team Valley because public transport couldn’t get them there.  An integrated Total Transport Network will fix this. 

As North of Tyne Mayor I have one major target from Government: create 10,000 jobs over 30 years. After four years as Mayor that jobs pipeline should be 1,333. The actual number is 5,049 direct, full-time equivalent jobs. That’s half the 30-year target in just 4 years, through a pandemic, and we didn’t even have pens for the whiteboards on my first day.  I’ll stack my record on economic competence against the Government’s anytime.

Where are these jobs coming from? 

Jobs in digital technology, with companies like Verisure in Quorum business park near Four Lane Ends.  Thoughtworks and MonstarLabs on Grey Street.  Credra and Leonardo on the Helix, near St James.  Plus Omnicom, Version 1 and Xplor.  One thousand people employed by these companies already, and they’re recruiting right now – for software engineers, technicians, account managers, and even a global director based here, in the North East. 

Jobs in manufacturing.  Everything from high-tech sensors for offshore wind by Transmission Dynamics in Northumberland Business Park, to high-tech chocolate manufacture by SweetDreams in Cramlington.  Seriously – they have high-tech welding for Easter Eggs. 

We’ve created Jobs in local small and medium enterprises – like joinery firm Cronin.  Helping them switch to a digital tracking system tripled their workshop output.  They recruited new joiners and new apprentices.  They’re now exporting around the globe – out of their factory in Palmersville, North Tyneside. 

Last year the North East was the number one region in the country for job creation from inward investment.  We beat London.  But you probably won’t have seen that on the national news. 

I was at a global investment conference in Leeds last week, negotiating to get more investment and job creation here.  I bumped into Tony Wells, MD of Merit, who make modular clean rooms for the biotech industry. We helped them buy a derelict factory in Cramlington, and expand their operations.  They’ve gone from 130 to 330 jobs, including going from 9 to 87 graduates, and 61 apprentices. 

We can talk about facts and figures.  But I love it when I meet the people who’ve got these jobs.  Like Dale, at Norfran in North Shields.  I asked him what he did before this job, “I worked away, mostly in the Baltic region. Now I’m home every night. I’ve got a young daughter and now I get to read her a bedtime story.”

If everyone has a secure, well-paid job, it would transform our region. Parents will no longer have to raise their kids in poverty. Crime will fall. Health inequalities will close. Why would we ever have an economic strategy that demands less?  Shy bairns get nowt. 

The answer to our economic problems is generating more wealth here

“To boldly go where no one has gone before.”  The mission of the Starship Enterprise and my mission as Mayor too.

For me it’s not about visiting other planets but tackling entrenched problems with fresh ideas. I’m not seeking out new life and new civilisations.  I’m aiming to make ours better.

We all know the story. Our region fuelled the industrial revolution. The workshop of the world. Home of the locomotive.  Birthplace of the railways.  Supplier of ships to the world.  Where renewable energy, electric light and turbine power were invented.

And then a rapid decline from the early 1980s – with the North East’s GDP per capita plummeting from 93% of the UK average in 1981 to 73% by 2017. No other English region has suffered this decline.

The reason is simple: long term under-investment. Investment in businesses, investment in infrastructure, and investment in our people. 

The answers to the economic problems of the North East lie in generating more wealth here. This creates a virtuous circle of better health and higher skills, which in turn leads to greater prosperity. 

If we can get everyone a secure job that pays their bills with enough left over a holiday and some savings, half of our other problems will evaporate. People with financial security live longer, healthier, more productive lives. Educational attainment rises and crime falls. 

Even the Government seems to know this. When the North of Tyne Combined Authority was set up the Government gave us one main target: create 10,000 new jobs over 30 years.

We’re already creating 4,832 jobs under my captaincy.  14 years’ progress in 4 years. A decade ahead of the Government’s schedule.  If anyone ever tells you Labour can’t run the economy, send them to me. 

But I want us to go further and faster.

There are 68,775 people claiming unemployment-related benefits in the North East.  We know that’s not the full picture – many more are economically inactive. And a quarter of those in work are in insecure, zero-hours, or temporary jobs, including bogus self-employment.

So we need more jobs, but crucially more good jobs. Jobs compatible with tackling the climate emergency, not ones paving the road to Armageddon.

Our Good Work Pledge now covers more than 50,000 employees in the North East.

Our advanced award requires employers to pay the Real Living Wage, recognise trade unions, build a balanced and diverse workforce, support career progression, and ban repressive practices like fire and rehire.

We developed it with the trade unions and enlightened employers and it underpins all of our investments and job creation.

But if underinvestment is the problem, how do we fix it with a government that still believes in austerity and an economy full of hedge funds after a quick buck?

We face a choice.

Allow hedge funds and private equity to extract wealth from places like ours, while they dodge their taxes on the way. 

Or find new ways to get socially productive investment into the North East. 

That’s why the North of Tyne Combined Authority has set up the Venture North fund.  This is a totally groundbreaking approach where we become the venture capitalists – but invest ethically. 

We’re starting with a £50 million pot. The North of Tyne is putting in £10 million, with a further £40 million from universities and pension funds.  Pension funds are our money, remember – the returns flow back to us, not to billionaires. 

We’ll invest in scale-up and start-up companies in the North East, including those that come out of our universities.  So we’ll part own them.  Our bright talents will no longer have to go to London, Oxford or Cambridge to start their businesses, in sectors like net zero, health technology, and life sciences. 

The wealth generated by this fund will stay here, in our region, and be recycled to create more jobs. 

This week I’m talking to more pension funds about investing here.  In time I want to get this fund up to £500 million.  By then it will create around 14,000 jobs and generate hundreds of millions of profit for us to reinvest in our region.  That’s Community Wealth Building on steroids. 

Making the North East prosperous again – that’s somewhere worth boldly going. 

What better landlords than the people who live there themselves

In December 2020, Awaab Ishak died.  He was killed in his home.  Where he should have been safe.  He was two years old.  He was killed by mould.   

His story really hit the press two years later.  Rochdale Boroughwide Housing was criticised by the coroner.  His parents had raised the problem with them years earlier.  They kept being told to paint over the mould.  They made a whole series of complaints, but to no effect.  In the end their little boy died.  I can’t even begin to imagine how that feels. 

After the coroner’s report into little Awaab’s death, the government announced plans to introduce changes to the law on damp and mould in social housing – known as ‘Awaab’s law’. It will require landlords to fix reported ‘health hazards’ within a specified timeframe. 

But it only applies to social landlords.  Not to private landlords.  You might recall a Labour amendment to the 2016 Housing Bill to compel private landlords to maintain their properties in a state fit for human habitation.  309 Conservative MPs voted against it, and the amendment fell.  Many of those MPs were private landlords. 

Awaab’s Law won’t apply to private landlords.  Local authorities have some powers – their stretched and underfunded teams can issue specific notices where breaches are found.  Yet there is still no blanket regulation requiring housing to be fit for human habitation. 

Citizens Advice found that 1.6 million children live in privately rented homes with damp, mould or excessive cold.  With energy prices sky high, this is even more urgent. 

Homes are rated with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) from A, the most efficient and well insulated, to G, the leakiest and most wasteful.  Tenants of private landlords are 73% more likely to be living with damp if they live in a property with an EPC rating of D-G rather than A-C.  On average a private tenant pays £350 a year more on heating because of poorly insulated homes.  Landlords are only required to bring properties to an E rating and don’t have to make any improvements costing over £3,500.

The private rented sector has doubled in the last 20 years. In 2021, rents outside of London increased at the fastest rate on record.  There are good landlords and not so good landlords.  Lovely landlords and criminal landlords. We can’t change human nature, but we can change the systems that reward bad landlords.  Sometimes it’s a simple as fining people who break the law. 

If you regularly read my column, you’ll know we’re working with government to secure a £4.27 billion devolution deal for the North East. As part of the trailblazer, we’re negotiating to get powers to regulate the private rented sector. If landlords had to meet a certain standard before they could rent, we’d see the 25% of private rented homes that are unfit brought up to standard very quickly. 

This would massively reduce the chances of a tragedy like Awaab’s death happening again.

We could combat the climate crisis too. We could demand that landlords’ properties not only meet health and safety standards but also a higher level of energy efficiency.

Let’s fix up people’s cold, damp houses. Install heat pumps. Solar panels. Better insulation. This not only improves people’s health and wellbeing – it saves money on healthcare spending. Every £1 we spend retrofitting homes saves the NHS 42p.  Add in the energy savings, the economic boost from the jobs created, and it pays for itself. 

Of course the simple answer is to allow councils to build homes, without being financially hamstrung when they get sold out from underneath them. 

At the North of Tyne, we’re using the Brownfield housing fund to open up sites across Newcastle Northumberland and North Tyneside.  And we block any sites that don’t have affordable housing – like the Strawberry Place development that hit the news recently. 

And what better landlords than the people who live there themselves? I’m talking about community-owned housing. We have plenty of existing buildings standing empty that would make great flats and apartments.  Why not turn them into housing co-operatives? And then asset-lock these so they can’t just be sold on, to the detriment of those living there.  I’m making the funding available and supporting communities who want to take these projects on. 

I want more homes. Where families are safe. Where children are safe. Which don’t cost the Earth.  Where they’re on good public transport routes so people can get to their work or education quickly and cheaply. 

And I don’t want there ever to be another case like Awaab Ishak.

The real prize is transport

One of our North East Labour MPs told me, “The best thing about London is getting the train out of Kings Cross on a Thursday night!”  I don’t know about you, but I love that view of the Tyne Bridges when you arrive back in the region.  I always look – it never gets old. 

Luckily as North of Tyne Mayor, most of my work is done here – with partners and the people of our region, delivering jobs and a brighter future. 

Sometimes, though, the road to prosperity passes through Whitehall, so every few weeks I jump on a train and head south.  Not because I want to eat pie & mash or take pictures of Tower Bridge, but to whisper in the ear of investors, businesses, and particularly government ministers.  It pays off.  Last year we were the number one region in the country for job creation from inward investment.  We beat London, and Manchester.  Not that you’d know that from the national news. 

In my 2019 manifesto, I promised to bring the region together and get more power and money devolved here.  When decisions are left in Whitehall, we slip down the priority list.  Working with our local council leaders, I’ve delivered on that promise and secured a £48 million a year deal, way better than the £38 million that places like West Midlands, Manchester, or in fact any region gets. 

The real prize, though, is transport. 

Back in February 2020 I was down in London, at the Treasury, talking to the Chancellor and junior ministers.  Shy barins get nowt, I thought, and so pushed for the North East to get a huge transport settlement.  “But you’re not united as a region” was the response, “so you can’t.” 

I called their bluff.  “If we can unite as a region, can we have it then?”  It’s taken a lot of work.  A lot of ministers – and Prime Ministers – have come and gone.  But starting in May next year we get £4.27 billion, building on the track record we’ve delivered at the North of Tyne over the past 4 years. 

If elected as North East Mayor, I will build a Total Transport Network to connect the entire region – with integrated bus, metro and rail routes that will be so cheap, so fast, so safe and so reliable that people will start leaving their cars at home. If London can do it, why can’t we? 

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you’ll find, you get what you need.”  So sang the Rolling Stones.  I’d like a proper pay rise for public sector workers.  I’d like power and water, and mail and rail back in public ownership.  I’d like to see free university education, and funding restored to schools and the NHS.  I’m not going to get those powers – that will take a change of policy in Westminster, and let’s be honest, a change in government.  I think long-term investment pays for itself, though – it certainly does in Germany and Denmark and other advanced economies.  Austerity was always a false economy.   

But this devolution deal will make a real difference.  Already in the North of Tyne literally thousands of people have a job as a result of our investment.  That changes their lives, their families, and boosts our regional economy.  It’s the start of closing our health and education gaps – people in well-paid jobs is the basis of any progressive country. 

Since devolution we’ve increased the numbers of people getting training from 22,000 a year to 33,000 a year.  That’s 11,000 people extra people getting qualified as goods drivers, chefs, welders or computer administrators.  Earning more money.  And we’ve got specialist programmes supporting those who need the most help. 

This Monday is May Day, or International Workers’ Day.  I’ll be out door knocking to get Labour councillors elected, to deliver on those Labour values of fairness, creating good, well-paid jobs.  Then I’ll jump on a train and be off to talk to ministers and investors in London.  Already this year we’ve secured an extra £9m to provide free, flexible training so people can work around existing shifts, or caring responsibilities.  These trips to London pay off. 

Put learners at the heart of education, not the courses

“When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.” So said George W Bush, to shrug off allegations of drug use.  It served him well for a time. But it says more about the 43rd President of the United States attitude to truth than it does about young people in general, few of whom go on to start illegal wars.   

If you’re in your 20s or younger you’re often in a transitional phase of your life. You might be in full-time education. You might have just started work. You might be doing neither. You might be feeling a bit lost.

So what do you do?

A sensible system of support will find you, give you a map, and help you find your way out.

That’s what we’re doing in the North of Tyne.

I met Brian when I knocked on his door while canvassing. He told me he’d started a community photography course. It gave him a reason to get out of the house. The course made him feel less isolated, less alone. He’d struggled with his mental health, and learning something new helped him recover.

There are thousands of people like Brian across the North East.

People who in the jargon are “farthest away from the labour market.”  People who find life a struggle and need a helping hand.  Perhaps with neurodiversity, or depression, or social anxiety.  Or simply low confidence.  They might be bright and talented, just not in a good place right now. 

It’s hard to ‘get on yer bike’ and look for work if you don’t have a bike to start with. Or put another way – you don’t throw someone in at the deep end if they’ve not yet learnt to swim.

Not everyone wants to go to college. At least not as a first step.  They want something more informal, less pressurising. Taught in a familiar setting by people they trust.

Which is why we fund organisations like the Workers’ Educational Association – the WEA.

This year WEA have provided more than 740 opportunities for people like Brian. With 500 of them – more than two-thirds – delivered as informal community learning.

We know they’re working with some of the most disadvantaged people in some of the most disadvantaged communities in our region.

We know that their work is helping people build up their confidence and break down barriers to learning and employment.

And we know that independence, self-awareness, and interpersonal skills are all critical.

The so-called ‘soft skills’ that are often the hardest to teach. But make the biggest differences to people’s lives.

We’ve given learning opportunities for 2,761 under 25s – people like Brian – in the first 6 months of this academic year.

With devolution, we wanted to do things differently.  Because if at the end of the day the same organisations get the same funding to deliver the same courses to the same students then what was the point?

The point of devolution is to use local skills, knowledge and connections – and people – to do a better job managing the Adult Education Budget from the North East rather than from London.

So what are we doing differently?

Well, we put the learners at the heart instead of the courses.  We’re not doing ‘Field of Dreams’ here – “If you build it they will come.”  There’s no good building something great if no one can get to it. And we know that public transport in the North East – not devolved until May next year I might add – is expensive and unreliable. So we need to get courses to where people live and work.

That’s doubly hard in rural Northumberland. But data shows that people from Alnwick, Amble, Berwick, Rothbury, Pegswood, Morpeth, Wooler, Hexham, and Haltwhistle have enrolled on courses we’ve funded.  So we’re getting this right.

And when the expanded devolution deal for the North East comes into force in May next year you can expect to see a similar story. Better provision in Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and County Durham to match what we’ve achieved in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland.

Most young people are not like George W Bush. Give them the right opportunities and they’ll make the most of them.

Is criminal behaviour a symptom of a complex societal sickness?

From Stephen Lawrence and Hillsborough, to Wayne Couzens and David Carrick – trust in the police is at an all-time low, especially among women and ethnic minority communities. Scandal after scandal is being uncovered

I’ve seen firsthand many professional, dedicated, and caring officers and support staff.  They work hard to uphold justice and keep people safe.  I feel for them – they must feel betrayed when those in power allow a toxic culture to fester.  It makes their already difficult job harder. 

The public instinctively understand there can be a bad apple in any organisation.  What’s unacceptable is a cover-up culture.  The perception of police closing ranks instead of opening themselves up to public scrutiny.

We all know places where crime is endemic.  Where law abiding people have neighbours on the edge of the law.  With persistent anti-social behaviour.  Who can they turn to if they don’t trust the police? 

“In effect, what we are witnessing is the decriminalisation of rape,” said former Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird.  The conviction rate stands at less than 1%.  Less than 1%.  Traumatised by the assault, survivors are then re-traumatised when the criminal justice system fails them.  Why hasn’t this been addressed? 

I’ve been aware of domestic violence since I was young.  My Mam was the first Chair of the Middlesbrough Refuge from Domestic Violence. Back then it was informally called the Battered Wives Home – the language has changed since then.  The problem, sadly, has not. 

I remember playing with kids who were in the refuge with their mothers. One time an ex-partner tracked down the address and forced his way in.  A brave member of staff tried to protect her, and was punched in the face by the violent man.  She needed hospital treatment and carried a permanent facial injury affecting her sight.  I can feel the anger rising as type this, now, over forty years later.  Lord alone knows how it must feel to survivors.  Or those trapped in a gaslighting relationship.  And minority ethnic, or trans, victims of domestic abuse suffer a whole other layer of conscious and unconscious bias. 

That’s why allies are so important.  I always wear the White Ribbon on my suit, and the North of Tyne is a White Ribbon organisation.  It’s the campaign for men to stand up against men who create a culture of misogyny.  And I’m proud to say my two teenage sons are supporters too. 

Criminal behaviour is a complex problem, a symptom of wider societal sickness.  Residents flag up anti-social behaviour to me all the time, and ask for more community policing.  That’s not the role of the Mayor, nor will it be after we come together in the new North East devolution deal in May 2024. 

My position, as North of Tyne Mayor, will be replaced by the North East Mayor – essentially the same job over a larger area.  But our two existing police and crime commissioners will still exist.  The new Mayor will not take on those powers.  Northumbria and Durham will remain as separate police constabularies. 

Research shows that if everyone has a secure, well-paid job, crime would halve overnight.  The 4,803 new jobs in the North of Tyne will help reduce crime. 

Helping the 650 kids who’ve been excluded from school get a decent education will change their futures, which is why we’re working on it. 

The widely praised North of Tyne Child Poverty Prevention programme takes pressure of families, and will directly help 1,600 kids by this July. 

Our skills bootcamps give ex-offenders free vocational training and a guaranteed job interview, and  fresh start in life. 

And NU Futures – the superb new youth centre we funded near St James Park – runs extensive community outreach programmes targeting thousands of young people across the North of Tyne.  In its first year over 500 young women and girls got opportunities to access career pathways and bright futures in football. 

One of the reasons I worked so hard to land the new North East devolution deal was so we can roll out great programmes like these south of the Tyne, into Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham.  A share of that £4.3 billion will change lives. 

If we want to eliminate poverty, the school gate is a good place to start

Schools are so much more than exam factories.  They are the precursor to our future society.  Kids rub shoulders with other kids and learn what’s socially acceptable.  Their expectations about life can be challenged – or reinforced.  No wonder parents are so keen to get kids into a “good” school.  

It follows, then, that if we want to eliminate poverty from our society, the school gates are a good place to start. 

About a year ago I was talking to a government minister.  “The way to create jobs long term,” he said, “is to increase research and development.”    

“We do need more research and development investment here,” I said, “But those jobs of the future won’t go to the kids who are too hungry to learn in school today.” 

On the basis of that conversation, I negotiated with ministers, including the Education secretary, and got Child Poverty Prevention included in the new North East devolution deal.  Ours is the only devolution deal that directly tackles the issue. 

It’s based on our existing North of Tyne Child Poverty Prevention Programme, which we’ve just agreed to expand at our last cabinet meeting.  After May 2024, we’ll be able to extend it across the North East, helping kids and families in Durham, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead. 

Poverty is messy.  Families have to choose between sanitary products or topping up an extortionate pre-pay meter. Between paying for the bus or buying food and nappies.  The stress parents feel of not being able to buy nice things for kids birthdays and Christmas, when we’re all bombarded by adverts.  The insecurity of knowing how many hours you’ll be able to work next week.  And the grinding mental stress that affects relationships.    

The long term solution to poverty is to get everyone a secure, well-paid job.  And we’re on with that.  Literally thousands of families have a higher income because of the economic development work we’ve done.  But child poverty needs action right now. 

That’s why last year our Child Poverty Prevention Programme took effect. We’re on track to directly support at least 1,600 kids by the end of July. We’ve worked with almost 90 schools, and have signed off funding to support another 50 schools next academic year. 

Cragside Primary School is one I’ve visited. My team and I were blown away by headteacher Becky Jackson and her staff – their tireless efforts to build a better life for these kids. They told me why, for example, they shelved World Book Day. Because of the enormous pressure it puts on struggling families to spend money they don’t have on novelty costumes their child will only wear for one day of the year. Instead, children were encouraged to share their favourite books with each other. Staff arranged for much-loved authors to visit the classrooms.

For families in poverty, financial burdens take many forms. And sometimes small, simple steps can help to take off some of the pressure. When Cragside teachers clocked that the kids were trying to outdo each other by turning up to P.E. in the latest football shirts, they introduced a plain kit for everyone to wear. An instant leveller.

There’s more. Struggling families can buy cheap, second-hand school uniforms from the school. The buying is important here, Becky explained. There is a dignity in purchasing a bargain that is lost when receiving a free ‘handout’. Cragside offers foodbank vouchers, coffee mornings, and welfare advice, on site – meeting the parents where they are.

I asked Becky and her team about their experience of working with us. “It’s been a really great project. We’ve had really great feedback from families,” said deputy head Lucy.  It’s heartening to know – and backs up what we’ve been hearing elsewhere too. Our Child Poverty Prevention Programme is currently cited as an example of best practice in the country.

As we walked its colourful corridors and classrooms, Cragside hummed with energy. It was, as all schools should be, a crucible of curiosity. A special place where friendships are forged, discoveries are made, and children not only learn but learn to love learning.

A microcosm of the kind of world I think we’d all like to live in.

A childcare system purely designed to get parents back into full-time work is not one we should aspire to.

“We will introduce 30 hours of free childcare for every single child over the age of 9 months.”  So said the Chancellor in the most eye-catching part of the Spring Budget. What’s not to like? As Jeremy Hunt himself said, “We have the one of the most expensive systems in the world.” About 80% of us have children at some point in our lives so it’s an issue that affects millions of people.

But is the announcement all it’s cracked up to be?

Let’s start with the present day. The ‘30 hours free childcare’ message is everywhere – the Government’s spin machine is alive and well. Parents of 3-and-4-year-olds are already supposed to get it, provided both work at least 16 hours a week. But as a parent in my team explained, that’s not how it works in practice.

Now, bear with me here – this gets complicated.  He and his wife pay £435.20 a month for his 2-year-old to attend nursery 2 days a week (20 hours) – that’s £5,222 a year. They pay for it using the tax-free childcare system – basically a Government bank account. For every £100 they transfer to the account the Government tops it up by £20. So the £544 a month bill they get from the nursery is really £435.20.

Confused? It gets worse. When his daughter turns 3 they become eligible for the ‘free’ scheme. That brings the initial nursery bill down to £320.27 a month which comes down further to £256.22 when paid for through the tax-free childcare scheme. So it will be £178.98 cheaper than it is now. But £256.22 a month or £3,074.64 a year is not ‘free’ by any definition of ‘free’ you’ll see in the dictionary

Well done if you’ve followed that.  It’s complicated. 

But why is it so complicated? Accident or design? Only a third of families are eligible for tax-free childcare in the first place.  And of that third, only half take up the offer.  So that’s about one in six families benefit.  So it’s not a massive surprise that in the four years the scheme has been running, the Government spent £2.3 billion less on tax-free childcare than it had planned.

Complexity is our enemy.  Simplicity is our friend. Make a scheme complicated and time-consuming to use and, hey presto, a lot of people won’t use it. Make it simple to navigate and they will.

What are we trying to achieve?

Most parents I speak to want a balance. Yes – they want to spend time with their kids as they grow up, particularly when they’re very little. But they want to work too. A system purely designed to get parents into full-time work is not one we should aspire to. Treating childcare simply as a business rather than a vital public service does not serve children and their families well.

It doesn’t serve nurseries well either. 4,000 providers closed down last year.  Partly because the Government doesn’t fully pay them to deliver the ‘free’ offer. Nationally the gap between what the Government gives them and the true cost of delivering the ‘free’ hours is £1.82 billion.  It forces them to charge higher fees for 1-and-2-year-olds.  No one in the Treasury seems to have any idea what will happen when nurseries can’t do that anymore.

But childcare isn’t just about nurseries and nurseries aren’t just about childcare. Nurseries are about early years education too and we know that the first 1,000 days have a big impact on the rest of a child’s life.  Too many children in the North East aren’t ready to start school when the time comes. So in the North of Tyne we’re funding 100 schools to provide extra help to kids in reception and those of pre-school age.

We’re also funding after school clubs in 22 schools because we know parents need that support now,  not in 2026 when the Chancellor’s pledge on wraparound care is set to start.

I had the opportunity to look after my boys full-time when they were younger. It was time well spent. Giving every parent the choices and opportunities that I had is what the childcare system should be all about. 

“Is it a blessing to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?”

“Is it a blessing to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?” I was asked on telly last week.

Last year Suella Braverman had a dream of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.  She’d now said it would be “a blessing” to be deported.  The same Suella Braverman who had to resign as a security risk after breaching the ministerial code.  Before being reappointed by Rishi Sunak six days later. 

“What would be a blessing,” I said, “is to treat asylum seekers with respect and dignity, and process their claims quickly.”

Asylum seekers wait 440 days for an initial decision. People fleeing persecution, waiting for over a year to hear their fate, prohibited from working, living in hotel rooms with deteriorating mental health – it’s neither compassionate nor economically sensible.

Sir Philip Rutnam, former Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, said productivity plummeted when asylum staff had their role downgraded in 2014. Paying civil servants less for the same job triggered an exodus.  Ten years ago, each officer processed 13.7 cases per month. Now it’s just four.

“I like your detail” said Jo Coburn, the presenter of BBC Politics Live, acknowledging the point. 

If the debate was about logic, it would be over.  If the debate was about morality and decency it would be over.  But it’s not. 

Sitting next to me was Conor Burns MP.  The man who claimed Boris Johnson had been ambushed by a cake.  Who in 2020 was forced to resign as a minister after the standards committee found him guilty of abusing of Parliamentary privilege.  Who, after being reappointed as a minister, was again suspended after allegations of inappropriate touching in a hotel bar.  He was subsequently cleared by an internal Conservative Party investigation.    

Later in the programme Mr Burns made a surreal speech in which he compared himself to Jesus, saying his suspension left him exiled “a few more days than Christ spent in the desert”. 

On asylum seekers he said the public want this sorted out.  That evil gangs exploit asylum seekers.  And some of his constituents didn’t like people coming in small boats.  And asylum seekers were staying in hotels.  “This is about deterrence” and “those who genuinely want to claim asylum need fear nothing” from being deported to Rwanda.

Note the dog-whistle language.  “Those who genuinely…” implying most asylum seekers are conning us.  Presumably by risking their lives in rubber dinghies. 

“What we’re getting into here,” I said, “is trying to blame asylum seekers.”

He played the “first safe country” card.    

Most refugees do stop in the first safe country.  14 million displaced Syrians have left their jobs and businesses and property behind.  6.8 million internally displaced in Syria.  5.5 million in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.  850,000 in Germany.  And according to the UN, around 20,000 are in the UK. 

Why deter asylum seekers?  Would we deter victims of muggings from going to a hospital? 

If I was facing bombs and famine, I’d try to get out with my wife and kids.  And I would not want to raise my children in a refugee camp.  Like the Syrian consultant anaesthetist I spoke to.  Like all asylum seekers, he should be allowed to work. 

A ‘safe passage visa’ – suggested by Olivia Blake MP – would let people already in Europe come to the UK to make an asylum claim without risking their lives in the Channel.  We could end the boats overnight.  And the trafficking gangs.  By letting asylum seekers get here legally, on trains, planes and ferries. 

But I don’t believe Government wants to stop the boats.  It gives them a big, juicy, culture-war story to distract from falling wages and crumbling public services.  And foreigners to blame. 

Suella Braverman let the mask slip, “we have a problem with people exploiting our generosity”.  Straight out of a Dickens novel, she believes refugees are beneath her. Unworthy and inferior citizens of the world who should be grateful for scraps.  Dog-whistle racism. 

I recall someone else had a dream.  That his four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.  

Softly, softly catchee £4.27 billion

“Text Michael Gove”, read the tweet from @BlaydonBarney (no surname or profile picture). “I hear you and him are best buddies.”

Well, I’ve never been for a pie and pint with the man. But if Barney’s suggesting I meet with Mr. Gove and other Government ministers to get more money and power for the North East, then yup.  That’s my job.  And talking to ministers – lots of ministers – is what’s got us £4.27 billion from central Government, delivering my manifesto promise to try and bring the whole region together. 

In fact, my job consists of basically two things.  One, getting cash and powers for the region.  Two, investing it to make people’s lives better. 

I often let you know about our investments.  There’s 135 active projects creating thousands of jobs, reducing climate damage, tackling poverty, helping local business, and getting people better skilled and educated so they can earn more and live a richer life.  A Treasury report said it was “remarkable” how effectively we’ve invested – far surpassing expectations. 

The whole North of Tyne team – me, staff, and our cabinet members from the local authorities – work together on getting money into the region, too.  Last year the North East was the number one region in the whole country for job creation from inward investment.  Yet you won’t hear that in the national media. 

In fact, we’ve just secured another £80 million from Whitehall to develop ‘Investment Zones’. Spread over five years, we’ll use the money to improve digital connectivity, start-up and scale-up facilities for local business, to create more well-paid jobs. 

You might recall that Liz Truss (remember her?) proposed investment zones in September 2022.  Along with others, I raised serious concerns about lowering environmental standards and workers’ rights. 

In the end, Ms. Truss lost. The lettuce won. The headlines moved on. But I kept talking to ministers.  The concept of Government intervening to create good jobs is sound.  It was the race-to-the-bottom on tax that was the problem – shifting jobs from one place to another. 

I told them we’re the experts on our region.  Every week I talk to our businesses, our research institutions, our workforce and trade unions.  How can you boost a region without listening to the people who live there?  And I now have it in writing that they will co-design the investment zones with us.  No loss in workers’ rights or environmental protections. 

Political negotiations aren’t like the films or TV.  People banging their hands on tables.  Then cut to several hours later, where people’s ties are loosened and the table’s covered in empty coffee cups.  Then the hero gives some inspirational speech and saves the day. 

Actually, that’s not strictly true, I have seen politicians bang their hands on tables, and raise their voices.  They just looked petulant, and lost credibility. 

Effective negotiation is about finding the win-win.  In politics, between people with very different values and ideologies, that can be hard.  All the while keeping very busy people interested enough to keep answering your texts and taking your calls. 

It’s very easy, and very tempting, to see them as political enemies.  To get into arguments about social justice.  That way lies deadlock.  You’ve got to keep your ego out of it.  

This is not like an industrial dispute where they need you to return to work.  They’ve been quite happy to ignore many regions completely.  They can walk away any time they choose.  Yet we got to the front of the queue, ahead of Tory areas. 

If you can speak their language, they’ll listen.  I want well paid green jobs with good trade union terms and conditions.  But I talk about investment to boost productivity in emerging sectors.     

If they’re intrigued by a proposition that will create thousands of jobs and boost the Treasury’s coffers, they’ll keep talking. 

And if you’ve got a good track record of delivery, they take you seriously.  Then, and only then, can you get deals done. 

Thing is, you actually have to understand this stuff, or you get rumbled.  You can’t have a Mayor that spits the dummy out when negotiations get difficult. 

The people of the North East elected me to build bridges, not burn them.

How do we create a visionary transport system?

We spend £3 billion a year on private transport in the North East – most of it on owning and running private cars. £1500 a year for every man, woman and child. On servicing. New tyres. MOT. Road tax. Insurance. Hospital parking charges. Depreciation.  

And 96% of today’s cars are still powered by fossil fuels. It is literally costing us the Earth. 

So what’s the alternative?

Henry Ford said, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said ‘Faster horses’”.

Imagine a system based around people instead of vehicles. Where the question changes from, “is there enough parking?” To, “how do we make the bus stop more comfortable?”  

We’ve negotiated a new devolution deal for the North East.  I promised we would in my 2019 manifesto.  And we’ve delivered.  Bus franchising gives us the power to take control of our transport system.

A single intelligent network covering the North East from Berwick to Barnard Castle. Where every bus has a transponder so passengers can see its location on an app, in real time, and be sure it’s coming. Where we use that data for continuous improvement. 

Where every traffic hotspot has a bus gate – so when the bus approaches, the traffic lights change and give it priority while the cars wait. 

Buses won’t need to wait while the driver sells tickets, so they’ll be faster. People will feel safe, whether 8 or 80, because we’ll have guards on the trains. You’ll be able to read your book on the way to work. And the smart navigation system will integrate walking and cycling, with safer crossings and more dedicated active travel routes.   

Free wifi on every bus and every train and an integrated Google Maps style navigation system with real-time data. Where you can reserve a bike locker in town so you no longer worry about theft. 

Where your account is keyed to your smartphone or smartcard and automatically charges you the lowest fare. So once you’ve hit a price cap, you get unlimited travel for free. Whether you switch between bus, Metro, National Rail, or e-scooter. And yes, you’ll still be able to buy a day ticket, with cash, so visitors from outside the region can use it. 

Our villages and hamlets will have transport on demand. Half bus, half taxi, where you book your journey in advance, the computer calculates the best route, and tells you when your bus will arrive.  No more standing on a cold wet roadside, hoping you haven’t missed it. And you’ll still pay the same flat fee as people living in the cities. 

If you want to get away for the weekend, or go to an away game, we’ll have expanded car clubs where you can hire a car.

And the entire fleet powered by renewable electricity or green hydrogen. 

This is not a zero-sum game, by the way. Better public transport means a better deal for motorists. Who likes cruising around looking for a parking space? Who likes sitting in traffic jams?

Fewer cars on the road means a plumber with a van full of tools or a doctor on call can spend their time doing their job instead of sitting in traffic. It boosts productivity. 

We have 861,000 cars in the North East. 186,000 households own two cars. If you can get to work or  college easily; if you can your shopping delivered, if you can go on a night out without needing a car – why would you own two? 

Thomas Edison famously said, “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.” 

I’m saying, we will make public transport so good that people will choose to leave their cars behind. A transport system where we’re proud of the fact that we pay our key workers a good wage and give them the status they deserve. 

The job of your politicians is to say “We will put a man on the Moon by the end of this decade.” Well I’m saying if I’m elected for a second term, this time as North East Mayor, we will build that total transport network.

A zero carbon, zero poverty transport system for future generations to inherit with pride.

The ‘divine right of kings’ belongs in the dustbin

“Because I’m worth it.”

Ah – the super-rich’s justification for their wealth through the ages.  Or at least since 1971 when L’Oréal first came up with the slogan.

But are they?  Medieval monarchs asserted the ‘divine right of kings.’  That their political power derived from God so they were not accountable to any earthly authority such as a parliament.  A handy get-out-of-jail free card, but one that didn’t work out so well for the first King Charles.

‘Divine right’ looks transparently self-serving by today’s standards. But is everything we accept now really grounded in solid intellectual foundations?

We’re constantly told “there’s no money” – for free school meals, insulating homes or key worker pay.  But billionaires have plenty. And there are 177 of them in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. 

When over 7 million households have been pushed into fuel poverty, it’s a contrast worth examining.  The fuel price crisis is not a law of nature.  Wholesalers are charging more for the gas from the North Sea.  For the electricity from our wind turbines.  The wind hasn’t put its costs up.  The workers producing this energy haven’t got a 300% pay rise.  Fuel poverty is an exact mirror of billionaire profiteering. 

So how do we change it?

Last week my fellow Metro Mayors and I met with Labour front benchers to input into the next manifesto, via Labour’s National Policy Forum.  It was like Shadow Cabinet speed-dating.  And some were definitely worth keeping in touch with. 

Lou Haigh, shadowing transport, was on board with our plans for re-opening the Leamside Line – vital for public transport in our region.

Jonny Reynolds, shadowing business, was sold on the case for expanding employee ownership of companies – one way of shifting the balance of power in favour of those who actually do the work.

Yvette Cooper, shadowing the Home Office, agreed that we need to help people early – by supporting kids who are excluded from school, and stopping them drifting into crime. 

Ed Miliband, leading Labour’s net zero agenda, agreed that we need to enforce the ‘local content’ rules – so wind farms in British waters are 60% built here.  That’ll create thousands of jobs.    

A Labour Government looks increasingly likely.  But I don’t want to wait.  And I don’t want to depend on going to Westminster like Oliver Twist. 

We won’t tackle wealth inequality by raising taxes on working people. We have to be smarter than that.

We’ll do a better job if we ditch the L’Oréal doctrine and go for universal wealth generation.  Everyone must have the opportunity – and support – to thrive.  Wherever they live and whatever their family background.  We need tools to generate wealth here, and keep it here. 

Tools like Earnback.

In my time as Mayor, every £1 we’ve invested in job creation returns over £3 to the Treasury in payroll taxes alone. 

Imagine if government let us keep the first year and a half of payroll taxes and benefit savings on those new jobs. We’d reinvest that money, creating more jobs and a stronger economy, in a virtuous circle.

Tools like Invest to Save.

Where Mayors can pitch to government that if we achieve a social good, we get the money saved from health, criminal justice or the environment. 

We agree on how our work will be marked by government and agree a rate of return.

People in warm homes don’t get ill as much.  Studies have shown that every £1 invested in home insulation saves the NHS 42p.  Add in the long-term energy savings, and the jobs created, then retrofitting homes looks a lot more affordable.  We could start by working with private landlords. 

Let’s remove the Whitehall shackles that stop us fixing problems here. 

We wouldn’t allow anyone to use a sound system that pumped out a billion decibels. It would damage everyone’s hearing for miles around. And it would be millions times more than what’s needed for a good time.  So it is with billionaires – extreme wealth concentration harms other people. 

Like the ‘divine right of kings,’ the ‘L’Oréal doctrine’ belongs in the dustbin of history.  Nobody should be above the law.  And no one should be worth a billion pounds.

Pancake day!

High pressure.  Unpaid labour.  No contract.  Tough working conditions.  Hot metals.  Open flames. 

Yes, I’m talking about Pancake Day.  Barring Christmas, this is THE cultural festival of the year in the Driscoll household.  With the passing years, and to satisfy the insatiable appetites and stratospherically high expectations of two, ever-growing teenage boys, I’ve had to become something of a pro when it comes to crepes.  Pancakes are their go-to choice when it comes to birthday breakfasts too.  And, as a socialist who believes in the redistribution of power, wealth, and transparency in government, I feel compelled to share my secrets.  So, read on…

First, make the mix.  Grab a large blender.  Or a mixing bowl will do.  For a double portion, in goes:

A pint of milk.

Three medium to large eggs.  Cracked one handed for extra flair. 

8oz of plain flour.  Or 225g in new money. 

“What about the salt?” you may ask.  Nope.  No salt.  Trust me on this. 

Give it a good blitz.  And remember to put the lid on.  And don’t confuse 4oz for 40z as my kids did a couple of years back.  By the time we’d added extra milk to turn the concrete to liquid again, it meant toad in the hole for a week. 

Frying pan. You can’t beat a good non-stick one.  If you’ve got more than one, keep it just for pancakes, eggs and omelettes.  On the hob.  Heat right up.   Hot enough so if you flick water at the base the droplets immediately sizzle and evaporate. A big slug of sunflower oil.  Not olive oil, the smoke point is too low.  And you might not appreciate the taste of tapenade with chocolate spread.  Roll the oil around the pan to coat it evenly. 

In goes a ladleful of pancake mix.  Lift the pan an inch off the hob and swirl the mix so it’s evenly spread.  Then – and this is key – leave it alone for a minute. Until you can see bubbles, under the surface. That’s when you know it’s got the integrity to take it to the next level… the flip.

After years of circular stains on the ceiling and a few minor burns from splashed oil, I reckon I’ve mastered the pancake flip.  (Don’t believe me? Check out the slow-mo video on my Facebook page).  

The trick is, you see, not to swing the pan up. No sir.  It’s to thrust the pan forwards and then whip it back, with a sudden flick.  You want a low, 180-degree spin, close to the pan; not a 720, three feet up in the air. Remember: you’re making pancakes, not launching a satellite. 

Et voila. Come about 7pm on any given Shrove Tuesday and I have a steady production line going. Flip. Cook. Serve son. Cook. Flip. Cook. Serve other son. Flip. Cook. Serve my wife.  Rinse and repeat.  I eat last.  If I’m lucky. 

This year my double portion mix wasn’t enough.  I had to make a second batch.  In total, two pints of milk.  A pound of flour.  And a box of eggs. 

Now for the controversial part. Toppings.

Birthday pancakes are served with a Suzette sauce: butter, caramelised sugar, orange juice & zest, and Cointreau.  Flambéed.  Delicious. 

On Tuesday, Leon, my eldest son went for peanut butter all the way.  Caroline, salmon and mango chutney.  Surprisingly tasty. 

My youngest son Nelson enjoys Nutella and Peanut Butter.  On the same pancake.  Followed by feta cheese and tomato puree.  Each to their own.  

To be fair, that’s not the strangest topping I’ve heard.  Chilli.  Pomegranate seeds?  Tuna mayo??  Prawns with hummus???

As a Labour Mayor who’s had to work with a Tory Government to secure a £4.27 billion devolution deal, I’ve had to reconcile a lot of differences of opinion, but I think that one goes too far even for me.

So what’s your favourite?  Tell me on my social media, or in person at my next Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday, 16th March.  6:30pm, at the Carnegie Building in Benwell.  NE4 8XS. 

According Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, you should learn to cherish turnip.  Where’s Baldric when you need him? 

There is strength in a union

I hope you had a good weekend – they’re great aren’t they? 2 days off every week to spend time with family and friends.  Watch the footy maybe, or knit a jumper, hit the bars, catch a film, bake a cake, run up a hill, or whatever you’re into.  I know it’s a bit different if you are in hospitality (shout out to the Monday weekenders) or work shifts, but you get my point.

It wasn’t always like this. It was the trade unions that lobbied for a two-day break in the 19th Century, extending the existing rest day of Sunday. But Unions have done so much more to bring about better working conditions.  Reduced hours.  Minimum pay.  Paid annual leave.  Not to mention life-saving health and safety measures at work.

Last week was ‘heart unions’ week. A brilliant initiative from the TUC to celebrate the work of unions and encourage more people to get involved.  So, if you haven’t already, I urge you to join a union. Who knows, you might want to campaign for a 3-day weekend! I’m sure there’ll be a few in black and white that would fancy next Monday off. Personally, I’ve got everything crossed for Eddie Howe and his brilliant team – let’s see them bring it home.

On Friday I was speaking alongside Mick Lynch and Kate Osborne at a dinner and fundraiser I hosted to support the Durham Miners’ Gala – the world’s greatest celebration of trade union collectivism, international solidarity and working-class culture. A truly unique event that is very close to my heart.

Now cast your mind back to Saturday 12th July 1980. Olivia Newton John and ELO are top of the charts with Xanadu. Margaret Thatcher has taken power.  Ronald Reagan is riding high in the polls.  And a 10-year-old Jamie Driscoll is at his first ever Durham Miners’ Gala, with his Mam. She was a NALGO union official at the time, and I remember her telling me to look up at the balcony of the County Hotel, and who was there, waving at the crowds below?  I have absolutely no idea.  I was far too young to recognise them.  But I do remember the sense of camaraderie and pride amongst those crowds.  And that unforgettable feeling when you hear the colliery brass band strike up for the first time.

That sense of working-class solidarity has been on show this past year. Working people won’t accept below inflation pay deals, because that’s still a pay cut.  They can’t.  We’re facing the biggest fall in living standards since records began. Enough is enough.

The money’s there to pay people. Government has paid train companies £340 million in compensation for strikes. They could have settled the dispute for that!

There has been no pay restraint for the bankers and the big energy companies like Shell and BP.  They’ve been laughing all the way to the bank. Nurses, paramedics, teachers, posties, rail staff, university workers, and others – they are only asking for enough money to live on. I don’t recall seeing nurses commuting to their wards via private jet.

On Saturday I marched alongside striking trade union members and spoke at a demonstration at the Monument. We were taking to the streets to remind the government that poverty is not a willing choice for people whose wages are falling behind inflation, whose bills are spiralling out of control, who’ve seen the price of their weekly shop ratchet up every time they go to the supermarket.

But it is a choice for the government to do something about it.

As Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, we’re creating 4,766 well-paid jobs. We’re investing in child poverty prevention, working through local schools – poverty proofing the school day and offering welfare advice to parents at the school gates. But we need the Westminster government to step up and do more to support those struggling with the most basic of human needs – food, warmth and shelter.

My mission is the make the North East the best place to live, work and play in – but I can’t do it on my own. So, let’s do it together. After all, there is strength in a union.

Greenwashing to pump more oil

£23 billion in profits. Expanding oil and gas production in the midst of the climate emergency. It’s not exactly ‘Beyond Petroleum’ is it?

More than 20 years after BP’s rebranding exercise everyone can see the greenwashing for what it always was: propaganda to pump more oil.  Oil and gas giants are not going to ‘see the light’ and switch to renewables – and this Government isn’t going to make them.

A Windfall Tax that allows fossil fuel companies to generate record profits during an energy price crisis is clearly not doing its job.  The loopholes are large enough to sail an oil tanker through. It’s no wonder they are being taken advantage of – they get tax credits for opening up new gas and oil fields.  Both BP and Shell were handed more money from the Government than they paid in tax every year between 2015 and 2020.   (Except 2017 when Shell paid more than it received).

Young people get this injustice. On Wednesday I was at Newcastle Sixth Form College for a special youth version of Mayor’s Question Time. I’ve done loads of these events for adults. The principle is simple. I was directly-elected by the people, so the people get to speak with me directly. And that does mean all the people – I want to hear from you even if you were too young to vote in 2019 when I was first elected.

Climate change is always one of the first topics young people raise with me.  And they’re well informed. One asked me, “is it true that BP used to be publically owned?”  Yes.  The Thatcher government privatised it in stages between 1979 and 1987. That £23 billion could have been funding our public services. Or installing wind farms. Or reducing our bills.  Or a mix of all that.

I’m not surprised young people are so interested. It’s their future. In the 2060s my sons will be the same age as I am now. Unless we fix this, by then the North East coast will be under attack from rising sea levels. Blyth underwater. Jarrow and Gateshead regularly flooded.

But fix it how? Governments and global corporations won’t act. Individuals can feel powerless when fossil fuel giants  heat our planet like some all-consuming Death Star.

That’s why our ‘Rebel Alliance’ brings together people and organisations that want to fight back against climate damage. Net Zero North East England is working for greener, cleaner, fairer region. And in the North of Tyne we’re at the heart of it with our investments in renewable energy, green skills, retrofit, schools and community projects. All underpinned by our Green New Deal Fund that makes money available to help charities, local businesses and public bodies decarbonise. 

It’s an alliance in the best sense. Not just zero-carbon, but zero-poverty. A just transition to a green economy that leaves no one behind.

Housing accounts for 34% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The North East has some of the oldest and leakiest buildings in Europe.

We know there are 140,000 homes in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland that leak energy, because we’ve surveyed them. We know 84% of our homes are gas-heated. We need better insulation, and alternatives to fossil fuels for cooking and heating.

Back in October I set our region’s entrepreneurs a challenge. With funding available for small local businesses that can find solutions.

And from what I’ve seen so far, our region’s entrepreneurs are rising to that challenge.  That’s why I’m excited to meet twenty one of those entrepreneurs on Valentine’s Day and see the products and processes they’ve developed. 

Free Flow Power can fit mini-hydro dynamos to residential pipes to generate electricity. Your very own personal turbine!

Brightblue Studio have developed ‘skins’ to cover windows to reduce heat loss. Making a version of double-glazing affordable to large numbers of people.

Dragonfly Insulation have patented an easily applied gel insulation to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

The more I see of these ideas the more confident I am that the North East will be the beating heart of the Green Industrial Revolution – creating jobs and delivering the tools to dig us out of this hole.

So BP – stop digging.

How do you hide 185,000 people?

How do you hide 185,000 people? Ask the Government. That’s how many people a recent report shows they’ve missed off the official jobless statistics from across the North East.  It doesn’t include students, or retired people, or people raising kids full time or looking after a home.

They call them ‘economically inactive’.  That’s an ugly phrase.  We’re talking about people whose health is so poor they can’t work full time.  Or without the training to get offered a job.  Or who might struggle with their mental health.  Or someone rejected from job applications so often one report describes them as “people who have given up”.  So let’s not call them ‘economically inactive’ as if it’s a lifestyle choice.  These are our fellow citizens in need of help.   

This isn’t news, either. Not to people beyond the Westminster bubble. My team at the North of Tyne has been working on it since I was elected.  

In 2019, Government set us a target to create 10,000 new jobs in 30 years.  I’ve been Labour’s Metro Mayor for three and three-quarter years.  By now we should have created a pipeline of 1,250 jobs.  In fact our investment is directly creating 4,766 new jobs.  Not bad against a backdrop of national economic upheaval.  In fact, last year we were the number one region in England for job creation through inward investment. 

Every week we’re adding to that total.  On Thursday I spoke to a high-tech firm about increasing their job count from 27 to 160 over the next three years.  How?  By levering in private sector cash to create more jobs.  It’s not all about taxpayer subsidy. 

Sometimes politicians fetishize business.  Some businesses are brilliant – they understand the value of looking after their workers.  Some treat their workers appallingly.  Some are terrible at paying their suppliers on time – a key issue for small businesses.  Which is why I only work with ethical businesses. 

Because there’s a difference between a job and a good job.  Is it a real living wage?  Is it secure? Does include training and development?  Does the employer recognise trade unions?  Are they building a diverse workforce? 

This is where our Good Work Pledge comes in.   A kitemark encouraging every employer in the region to be a good employer.  We include it in our contracts with businesses.  It now protects over 80,000 workers. 

The local Hook Group – who own Blackfriars and other restaurants – were the first hospitality business to gain Advanced accreditation.  They’ve proven that staff waiting tables and serving at a bar can be paid a living wage and looked after.  We’ve become so accustomed to poor employment we accept it as routine.  Time for that to end.   

Long term ill health will take time to reverse.  But there is a direct correlation between poverty and ill health.  I’m working with Sir Michael Marmot and his team to reduce our health inequalities by building a fairer economy.  People with more money live longer, healthier lives.  

We’re training people to get these jobs.  We’re going beyond traditional college courses.  Running bootcamps – free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, people can fit around childcare or shift work.  Training for jobs in construction, culture, digital skills, HGV driving.  And a guaranteed job interview with a local employer. 

Our skills programme leaves no one behind.  Individual coaching and support for people with autism, and neurodiversity, and young people who’ve had a tough start in life.  Adults with complex needs around mental illness and substance abuse. 

Our £2.25 million programme to train a ‘green army’ of new trades people to combat the climate crisis. Maintaining electric vehicles. Retrofitting houses. Installing heat pumps. The jobs of the future.  I want them here, with local residents snapping them up.

Here’s the question.  If we’ve done so much so quickly, why has a Conservative Government that’s been in power for 13 years done so little?  I think you know the answer.  That’s why I spent meeting after meeting with ministers and pushed so hard for devolution across the North East.  

We’ve had enough of being left behind by Westminster.  We’ve proven devolution works.  Let’s scale it up.  Our people need it. 

How do I get things done? I find a way.

As a politician I’m often asked how things get done.  My job as Mayor isn’t to debate policy or score points with political opponents, it’s about bringing people together to get things done. 

So when I see pictures of myself digging up some earth for Transmission Dynamics’ new factory, or cutting a ribbon in Verisure’s new offices for 600 people, or handing a certificate to a school student for their success in our climate education programme, it’s always slightly surreal.  Thankfully my kids’ sarcastic wit is only too good at bringing me back down to earth when I get home! 

You’ve probably seen pictures of me and my fellow regional leaders signing the new expanded devolution deal for the North East.  It’s been years in the making, and I’m over the moon that it’s worth so much more than other English devolution deals.  £38 million for West Yorkshire, £38m for West Midlands, £30m for Manchester.  We’ve negotiated £48m for the North East.  And that’s just the core investment budget. 

Including transport, housing and adult education, it’s £1 billion in the first three years.  And that will increase.  This month alone our North of Tyne team has secured an additional £4.2 million we’re using to provide free training courses, and over £15 million for investment across the North East on port infrastructure, creative industries, and housing. 

Like the rest of Britain, austerity has wreaked havoc here.  Our public services are crying out for investment and fair wage settlements.  I work closely with the other mayors – there’s unity in strength.  But my job is to represent the people who elected me, here.  I said in my manifesto I’d try to bring the North East together so we could get transport devolved, and we’re one step closer.      

Closer – the deal signing with Michael Gove fixed the contents of the deal, but the public and our councils now get their say – check the council websites. Journalists keep asking me if I’m interested in continuing as Mayor, over the new, larger area.  Yes I am, but it’s inappropriate to launch a campaign before we know the results of the public consultation. 

Getting this far has been far from plain sailing, mind. Last year saw a dizzying merry-go-round of Ministers and Prime Ministers in Whitehall – I’ve had colds that lasted longer than some of ‘em!

I recall the Thursday when Boris Johnson (remember him?) resigned last July, I was in London.  By the Saturday morning I was speaking to Greg Clark, the incoming Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, making sure our devolution deal didn’t get shelved in all the chaos.

Our council leaders must have lost count of the hours of meetings and discussions they’ve had to get this far.  We’ve collectively met with Michael Gove (sacked & reappointed), and before him Neil O’Brien (resigned) and before him Luke Hall (dropped in reshuffle).  Newcastle leader Nick Kemp was adamant that we must have a stronger settlement if Durham were to join the deal – out of which we secured Trailblazer status. 

I’ve lost count of the meetings I’ve had with Treasury ministers and Transport ministers to ratchet up the amount of funding we’re getting.  And with Education ministers to get child poverty prevention in the deal.  None of that gets reported – there will never be a headline “Politicians inch closer to agreement in technical meeting about obscure funding streams”.  Sometimes it means getting in a room with someone you fundamentally disagree with on 80% of things, just to find the 20% of common ground that unlocks a solution.

And of course, the politicians are in the photos, but there’s a team of people behind us.  My North of Tyne team have been exemplary – helping deliver so much already in my first term, in spite of the Covid pandemic.  Reams of documents, folders of spreadsheets – reality is so different from political TV shows. 

In this role you don’t have the luxury of walking away from negotiations, you have to find solutions. If you don’t solve the problems, the public will rightly punish you for it.

So, when I’m asked ‘how do I get things done?’ The answer is simple: I find a way.

People or cars?

“All I need is the air that I breathe…” sang the Hollies nearly 50 years ago.  It’s not literally all you need, but clean air is a UN-backed fundamental human right. 

If you’re very young or very old, or have a condition like asthma, microscopic particles of burnt fuel or brake dust can put you in hospital.  Hundreds of Tynesiders die prematurely every year from air pollution. 

Yet the Government ignored this for a decade.  In 2011, environment charity Client Earth took them to court for breaking their own laws, and won.  But rather than take action, the Government dragged it out in the courts.  Client Earth won again, twice.  So in 2018 the Government decided to impose clean air zones across some of Britain’s pollution hotspots, in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Greater Manchester, Portsmouth, Sheffield, and Tyneside. 

The Clean Air Zone comes into effect on Monday, 30th January.  It covers much of Newcastle city centre, and parts of Gateshead approaching the Tyne bridges.  It won’t affect private cars, but will affect older taxis, buses, and lorries, and from July, vans.  Most newer vehicles are already exempt because they’re less polluting.  There’s full information online at the council websites, and breathe-cleanair.com. 

By the way, please don’t email me – the North of Tyne is not involved.  Our local councils administer it, and deserve full credit for the huge amount of work to minimise the financial impact to our residents and businesses.  Owners of older vehicles can apply for grants to upgrade their vehicles.   And if you hear someone say it’s just a money maker for the councils, it’s not true.  They’re legally required to use all the money for running the scheme or transport improvements. 

No one wants to be stuck in a traffic jam, breathing toxic air.  But clean air is only part of the challenge.  CO2 still accelerates climate change.  Cars are expensive to own and run.  Even electric vehicles use huge amounts of resources to build, and the electricity has to come from somewhere. 

Add in the cost of owning and running a car, and it’s in everyone’s interest to get more cars off the road, including motorists.  But we’ll get better results by using a carrot than a stick. 

But where is the carrot today?

Government has persistently failed to invest in high quality public transport outside of London.  Transport spending per person in London was £882 in 2020 – more than double the North East’s funding.  It’s hardly surprising London’s public transport system is better used.  In 2021 76% of workers in the North East travelled to work by car.  In London, it’s 27%.

It’s not just about money, it’s also about who decides how it’s spent. 

We don’t currently have transport powers in the North of Tyne, because 40% of the Metro stations are in the South of Tyne area.  But when the new North East devolution deal comes into effect in May 2024, on an expanded geographical footprint, it will be a game-changer.  It includes £732 million in devolved transport funding over the next five years. 

We’ll get powers to introduce bus franchising and decide routes, timetables and fares.  Introduce integrated ticketing so passengers can switch easily between bus, Metro and the new Northumberland Line we’re opening between Ashington and Newcastle.  We’ll be able to build new Metro routes, connecting places like Washington to the rail system.   Imagine a public transport system that’s safe, reliable and affordable.  That runs in the evening.  That turns up on time.  Where women and older people feel safe travelling at night.    

We’ll be able to make cycling and walking more attractive and help us to get to net zero.  And invest in secure bike parking – crime is a major reason people don’t cycle.  Fewer than 10% of adults here cycle once a week.  The number of children who walk to school in the North East has dropped by a quarter since 2009 – it’s now just 2 in 5 kids.  Both of those numbers are far too low, with long term health consequences.

So yes – we need clean air to breathe. But we’ll do it best by redesigning our transport system around people, not cars.

Photo courtesy of Sustrans. ©2019, Sustrans, Chris Foster, all rights reserved.

There’s nothing ideological about it, it’s simple arithmetic

You get offered a job in modern Britain.  A job doing vital, meaningful work. You’ll keep the country running.  You’ll make a real difference to people’s lives. You might even save lives.  Without you and your colleagues Britain would unravel. Government ministers are so grateful that they film themselves clapping for you on a Thursday evening through the pandemic.  Interested? 

There’s just one catch… every year, you’ll be paid less.  Your wages won’t keep up with the rampant inflation gripping our country. Your bills will increase. Food prices will rise. Fuel costs will rocket. But your income will flatline.

I said there was one catch. But there’s more. You take the job, but colleagues keep leaving.  Others are going off sick with stress.  There’s more and more work for you now. You get more and more tired. You see your family less and less. It gets so bad that your canteen starts offering free porridge because your teammates can’t afford breakfast. (No, I didn’t make this up. Yes, this has really happened.)

You hear about staff sleeping in their cars because they’re exhausted and can’t afford the petrol for the ride home. (Welcome to nursing!) Or your bosses expect you to drive all over the country, whatever hour you’re called out, but won’t reimburse you when you’re haemorrhaging money by filling up your car at the pumps. (Welcome to the rail industry!) And still your pay falls.  Eventually, you and your colleagues come together and agree. Enough is enough.

But here’s the thing: the Government doesn’t think you should have the right to ask for more. They enforce restrictions to stop you.  Ballots for industrial action must involve putting slips of paper in a physical box.  (No, I didn’t make this up, either.) It’s 2023, you say. Everything – everything – is online now.  Tough, they reply. Paper and box or we’ll prosecute.

But enough is enough – ballot thresholds were smashed.  But instead of negotiating, Government changes the rules again.  There’s no headline in industrial harmony.  No red meat for the backbenchers.  Besides, it would draw attention to the profits being extracted from our public services.  And how much of it get channelled through tax havens. 

So they bring in anti-strike laws.  If Sunak and Co.’s new legislation doesn’t scare you, think of it this way. The Government wants to legally compel people to work against their will.   There’s a word for that: conscription.  It sounds like something from Putin’s Russia.  This is the same Government that said disrupting deliveries of the Daily Telegraph was an act of terrorism. 

In fact under the international Forced Labour Convention no. 29, forced labour is defined as “work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”.  It must not be used “as a means of labour discipline” or “punishment for participation in strikes.”  That was adopted into UK law in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act. 

It’s not the strikes causing our services to fail. It’s our failing services causing the strikes – neglected and deprived of investment for years. 

Key workers aren’t demanding ‘a pay rise’. They’re trying to reduce their pay cuts – as inflation eats away their wages.  There’s nothing ideological about it – it’s simple arithmetic. 

And we’re not talking about a few rogue employees here.  You’ll hear commentators asking “do the public support the strikes?”  I’d point out: 100,000 nurses, 100,000 posties, 70,000 university staff, 40,000 rail workers, 100,000 civil servants, thousands of ambulance staff all taking action, hundreds of 1000s of teachers being balloted – that is the public!

The trade unions are protecting the wages and conditions of all workers.  They set the benchmark.  Even if you’re not in a union, they help you.  So join a union, and help them back. 

So… this is work in modern Britain.  Interested?  No?  You’re not alone.  That’s why there’s a recruitment crisis.  The question that commentators never seem to ask is why has it fallen on working people to defend our public services?  Isn’t that the Government’s job? 

If it were up to me, I’d be out clapping for our trade union members on a Thursday evening. 

Are Devolution and Levelling Up the same thing?

“You’d better run round with the hoover then,” said Caroline, my wife, after I mentioned a photographer from the Guardian would be coming before New Year. 

The photographer, Gary, was a friendly bloke.  I made us a cuppa, and we chatted about his photojournalism documenting the history of British protest since 1997.  Then down to business – where did he want me, and in what pose?  He wanted to catch the natural light.  He liked the books in the background of my home office / spare room.  We took some pics in the garden.  And important questions – like should I suck my stomach in?  “I would in your position,” he said.  Harsh, but fair. 

The photos were for a profile piece following on from the recent North East devolution announcement, confirming a £4.27bn deal for a combined authority area stretching from Berwick to Barnard Castle – a lovely town with not one, but two opticians.

We’d done the actual interview the day before, over the phone.  In fact, I’d submitted an opinion piece highlighting what we’ve delivered in the North of Tyne. It’s important to fly the flag of the region, and remind the rest of the UK that the North does not stop at the M62.  The North East has the potential to be an economic powerhouse.  If we can get the up-front investment, it pays for itself many times over. 

The journalist rang me, asking could they follow it with a profile piece?  So we spoke about the deal, and the future of the North East. 

Levelling-up and devolution aren’t the same thing.  Devolution is about moving power and budgets away from Westminster.  Levelling-up is about reducing inequality.   And you can’t do it on the cheap.  The deal is very welcome, but it won’t give nurses a pay rise or restore our council funding.  As I said, “If you’ve seen your library close and leisure centre close and now your social care is crumbling, it’s only human to see devolution as giving a fiver with one hand while taking a tenner with the other.”

As devolution deals go, it compares well against other regions.  When it comes to the core investment funds, the West Midlands gets £36.5 million a year for 2.9 million people.  Greater Manchester gets £30m for 2.8m people.  West Yorkshire gets £38m for 2.3m people.  The new East Midlands deal is £38m for 2.2m people.  We’re getting £48 million a year for 2 million people.  It’s the biggest fund in England despite being the fifth largest in population.  As regional leaders I think we’ve done a good job for the North East.  This is the only funding route available for strategic devolved investment.  If the deal is rejected, the money disappears back to Treasury; they won’t divide it between our councils.  The investment fund comes with other money for housing, transport and skills training, worth £1bn in total in the first three years. 

The journalist wanted to check some biographical facts from Wikipedia.  It’s wise to check, I told him.  Caroline was looking at her phone one evening and said, “It says here you have four children.”  We don’t, we have two.  “Is there something you want to tell me?”  Although why she was looking me up on Wikipedia I’m still not sure.  

Mind you, one online source says I made “between $3 million and $5 million” from Yeezy sneakers “enough to rank as one of the biggest celebrity cashouts of all time.”   Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.  Oh hang on…

They were keen to go with the news line that I get on with Michael Gove.  The Financial Times had rang up with same angle.  I work well professionally with him, I told them, and other ministers too, that’s how you get things done.  I’m there to get results for the people I represent.  But I don’t share his politics. 

It’s up to the media to find ways of working that serve the public good. I think politicians should answer questions directly and perhaps share a little of what makes them tick.  But don’t believe everything you read on the internet.  For the record, my waistline is on a need to know basis. 

What’s the challenge for 2023?

Exactly 1 year ago I wrote, “Boris Johnson is on the ropes.  Will Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak replace him?”  Both, was the answer.  2022 turned out to be the year of three different Prime Ministers. Something the country last experienced 170 years ago.

But whoever’s in power the same problems need fixing. And this government seems to have given up trying. Despite the Brexit rhetoric they’re not willing to ‘take back control’ and tackle the cost-of-living crisis. They hide behind pay review bodies.  Train operating companies.  “Global headwinds.”    Excuse after excuse. 

Millions of people are struggling to pay their bills.  Workers are forced to go on strike to avoid real-terms pay cuts.  Businesses are struggling to stay afloat.  Child poverty is spiralling.  Savings are evaporating.  Debts are mounting. 

The first step to recovery is admitting that you’ve got a problem.  Blaming everyone else doesn’t cut it.

So what could the government do instead?

Well first of all – you can’t cut your way to success. You don’t improve people’s lives by axing services they rely on. Austerity sucked the life out of much of our local resilience the first time around. We don’t need a reboot. Every time a child grows up hungry you’re knocking points off economic growth, while simultaneously ignoring that family’s suffering. 

Investment is critical. You don’t create jobs out of thin air. The services we rely on are not just about emergency response. Health, education and transport are the long-term foundation of wealth generation.  You don’t bring energy bills down by relying on foreign fossil fuels. You don’t improve productivity by forcing people into insecure jobs.

Industrial disputes didn’t cause our economy to fail – it’s our failing economy that’s causing the industrial disputes.  Railway workers, nurses, and posties are reasonable people.  They’re not asking for golden wallpaper.  They want what we all want – to be paid properly for the job they do. We called them ‘key workers’ and clapped for them during the worst of the pandemic. We cannot abandon them now.

We know what’s true for the North East is true for the rest of the country. Our region’s economic decline was caused by disinvestment. We can only fix that by putting money back in – investing in businesses, infrastructure, and people.

Invest now, save later. Every £1 invested by the North of Tyne returns over £3 to the Treasury in payroll taxes alone – income tax and National Insurance.  And that’s not counting the health, wealth, and education benefits to families of having skilled workers in good jobs.

Our current devolution deal says we’ve got to create 10,000 new jobs over 30 years. 3 and a half years in and we should have 1,200 jobs in the pipeline.  We’ve actually got 4,685. And we saved another 2,643 by investing in firms during the pandemic.

That’s 14 years’ progress in 3 and a half years.

With a deeper deal on a wider footprint we can do even more when the new North East devolution is signed into law.

170 years ago the British Empire was in crisis. Ireland was just emerging from the Great Famine. One million people had died from starvation and disease. Two million had emigrated. A fifth of the country’s people gone.  Ireland’s population has never fully recovered.

A famine is not simply a natural disaster. It’s the result of human action or inaction to prevent it.  The Government in Westminster at best did too little, at worst exacerbated the problem. 

That’s the nightmare scenario. But the drip drip effect of hoarding power and resources in the centre means potential lies fallow in the regions. It’s not just crops that are at risk of blight.  People’s talents are being wasted. 

Soon after the year of 3 Prime Ministers Charles Dickens wrote ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. We don’t want a country permanently divided between rich and poor. We need a new doctrine of universal wealth generation: where no place and no person is left behind.

That’s the challenge for 2023. Like the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, if we work together we can light up the sky. 

Do we have to go into Space to value our home?

I was on the BBC Sunday Politics last week.  Arriving in the green room, stripping off layers of overcoat and fleeces, I offered my hand to fellow guest, ex-Conservative MP, Lord Timothy Kirkhope.    

“Should I call you Timothy or Tim?”  I asked.  There was a pause.  “Or Lord Kirkhope?” 

“How about Tory scum?” he asked, without making eye contact.

Few things in politics shock me, but that did.  This was not a jocular ice breaker. 

“I don’t go in for that kind of language,” I said, “not my style at all.” 

It’s true.  I’m very much a ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ kind of guy.  It’s the Golden Rule: treat others as you would wish to be treated.    

By the time we’d chatted and done the show, we’d found common ground that the Government should treat asylum seekers better.  He offered me a lift, but I was going in a different direction.  Literally as well as politically. 

I walked home across the Town Moor.  Frost was glistening on the footpath.  Frozen blades of grass stood sharp.  It’s rare to have a clear, panoramic view in the middle of a city.  Our horizons are usually cluttered with buildings and vehicles and noise.  It literally gives you a different perspective.

Astronauts experience the ‘overview effect’.  Last year, William Shatner, Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, became the oldest man to go to space.  On his return he wrote, “While I was looking away from Earth, and turned towards the rest of the universe, what I understood, in the clearest possible way, was that we were living on a tiny oasis of life, surrounded by an immensity of death. I saw the deepest darkness I could have ever imagined, contrasting starkly with the welcoming warmth of our nurturing home planet.”

Star Trek looks dated now, but was revolutionary in its day.  Mr Chekov was a Russian serving on the USS Enterprise at the height of the Cold War.  Lt Uhura was a black woman bridge officer.  The first interracial kiss on US television.  Star Trek’s Prime Directive is anti-colonial. 

There’s a different vision of the future, too.  Most pre-Star Trek sci-fi was dystopian.  But Jean-Luc Picard explains, “The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.”

The recurring plot theme was seeking mutual understanding.  Aliens have the same strengths and failings we have. 

And so it is in politics.  To change someone’s mind requires understanding their point of view.  Sometimes you can reach agreement.  By working with government ministers, we’ve got £10’s of millions of extra investment in the past year. 

Yet the philosophical differences in politics are real.  Sometimes, as in Star Trek, diplomacy fails and we launch photon torpedoes at each other. 

I cannot accept any suggestion that children growing up in poverty is a tolerable or inevitable consequence of a modern economy.  Those MPs who voted to deny children free holiday school meals are just morally wrong. 

I cannot accept that people fleeing persecution should be deported to Rwanda.  Or that we should turn our backs on people’s sons and daughters drowning in the Channel. 

A lamb and a wolf are never going to agree on what to have for dinner.  But if you go in “shields up”, with hostility, no one communicates. 

Trade unions are winning disputes using the power of rational argument.  Forensic accounting, for example, proving that pay rises are affordable.  Mick Lynch won the public over by defying the stereotype and sticking calmly to the facts. 

Anger can make you feel better, for a while.  But anger is not a plan.  That suits those who benefit from the status quo. 

I want change.  I want a world without obscene wealth inequality.  Where we invest for a sustainable future for our children and grandchildren.  I’d like a politics where evidence trumps abuse – we have work to do. 

As William Shatner said, “I had to get to space to understand that Earth is, and will remain, our only home. And that we have been ravaging it, relentlessly, making it uninhabitable.”

In the end, we all want to live long and prosper. 

Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.

I have a rare CD version of Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes, a lesser known album by Specials front man Terry Hall, who died yesterday.  The title track seems thematically inspired by David Bowie’s Kooks.  Both are about a dad advising his kids not to get stressed by the expectations society places on them.

I grew up with The Specials.  I vividly remember the black & white chequered cover on the audio cassette of their debut album.   That was before CDs.  To find Ultra Modern Nursery Rhyme back in 1990 I had to place a special order.  Now you just download. 

Their eponymous debut album shot them to fame.  It’s a classic.  Brimming with the energy of ska rhythm and deep bass, punctuated by brass.  The originality of songs like Stupid Marriage and Too Much Too Young – lyrical cautions against teenage pregnancy. 

Their articulate nihilism is expressed in Man at C&A – the helplessness against world events and uncaring politicians.  Women forced into sex work in Hey Little Rich Girl.  The simple sadness of watching an ageing woman clinging to her youth in Pearl’s Café.  The alcoholism decried in Stereotype.  The Specials were not just angry young men.

And, of course, Ghost Town.  If you lived through the Thatcher years, you know this song.  Never has there been a more accurate musical social commentary.  Government leaving the youth on the shelf. 

They could have been the band of 2022.  The stalking terror of knife crime articulated in Concrete Jungle.  The song Too Hot.   The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum should be Liz Truss’s theme song. 

“Nothing’s changed! When we wrote it we had Reagan and Thatcher and we thought things couldn’t get worse. Now we’ve got Trump and May!” said Terry Hall in a 2016 interview. 

Lunatics was Hall’s first post-Specials track, with the new band Fun Boy Three. He’d started writing it before splitting from The Specials with Neville Staple and guitarist Lynval Golding. 

The Specials only had about 18 months of fame before they split.  Five top 10 singles and two No 1s in under two years.  Hall speaks of the pressures they were under.  Being targeted by the far right.  The National Front turning up and Sieg-Heiling at them on stage.  The violence at the gigs, which led to him being arrested, charged and fined for incitement. 

“Getting picked up at the airport was a drama, checking into the hotel was a drama, leaving the hotel was a drama. You couldn’t get any space, not even for an hour or two, because wherever you went there were these lads who’d travelled 9,000 miles to see you live and didn’t have anywhere to stay, so you had to put them up in your room and then you had to sit up all night with them.  Talking about the f**king Specials.”

I can’t talk about the Specials without Jerry Dammers.  Their artistic inspiration and lead songwriter.  In fact, it’s Jerry Dammers GCOT.  That’s Grand Companion of OR Tambo.  Now that’s one honour I’d salute.  Dammers was awarded it for his anti-apartheid work, including writing the song Free Nelson Mandela, another staple of my teenage years. 

The Specials’ It Doesn’t Make it Alright is an explicitly anti-racist anthem.  Their legacy lived on when in 2017, 20 year old Saffiyah Khan calmly smiled while staring down an EDL thug.  The photo of her wearing a Specials t-shirt went viral. 

Hall spoke about his mental health.  He’d suffered horrific child sex abuse at the hands of a teacher, and sang about it in Well Fancy That. 

“It got to a point where I didn’t have a choice – and it’s done me so much good,” he said. “Talking about mental health problems is a conscious decision. It’s something I want to share with people.”

Seeking help seemed to make a difference.  He was much happier with his later musical collaborations.  And life in general. 

“I also bloody love being 60. I’ve wanted to be 60 since I was in my twenties. I’ve always thought I’d make my best music in the years between 60 and 70.”  Sadly, he died aged 63. 

As Terry Hall himself sang: Enjoy yourself.  It’s later than you think.

When is an advert not an advert?

I have to admit, apart from the odd England games, I don’t really watch TV. Not because of some philosophical objection, I just don’t have the time. Between being the Mayor and spending time with my family, there’s little room left to watch failed politicians eating parts of animals that really shouldn’t be eaten…

However, I did catch this year’s John Lewis advert.  Beamed into homes across the country, it’s an annual cultural event that’s woven itself into the tapestry of modern Christmas traditions. In previous years this 90 second clip is rumoured to have cost north of £1 million to make.  The Blair Witch Project cost around £50k, although it is not quite as heart-warming.

The advert is a simply told story about one middle-aged man’s attempt to connect with his incoming foster child, via the medium of skateboarding. As the advert finishes, a graphic on screen tells us there are over 108,000 children in the UK care system, and that John Lewis is making a long-term commitment to support them. Like most people, I’m left thinking about the challenges those young people will face as they grow up. My thoughts then turn to all the wonderful foster parents who’ll support them on their journey. Strangely, the last thing on my mind at this point is whether I need a new toaster.

So what are John Lewis up to? Have they given up on trying to sell us matching duvet and pillow sets and turned their attention to sorting out society’s problems instead? (Full disclosure: our matching duvet and pillow cases are from John Lewis.) 

They wouldn’t be the first company to make a bold statement in this space. On Black Friday 2011, outdoor clothing company Patagonia famously took out an advert in the New York Times instructing people – “Don’t buy this jacket”.  Going on to explain the environmental costs of clothing production and needless consumption.

For the record I think both Patagonia and John Lewis should be applauded for highlighting important social issues. Sadly, in the world of big global brands, they are the exception, not the rule. This Christmas, adverts will constantly tell us that ‘we’re worth it’ and we should ‘treat ourselves’ to that shiny new thing.

Worse still, marketeers will subliminally remind us that when it comes to family and friends, more money spent = more love shown.  These messages feel even more jarring when you’re struggling to pay for the basics.

This Christmas will be the toughest part of an already tough year for many people. The North East has overtaken London with the highest rate of child poverty in the UK.  In-work poverty contributes to this rise.  Caught in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis, we are getting squeezed from all angles. With the added pressure of presents to buy, big meals to cook and homes to heat, many of us definitely don’t wish it could be Christmas every day.

At the North of Tyne, we’re doing what we can to address this, including our Child Poverty Prevention Programme.  We’re working with schools to deliver welfare advice to parents at the school gates. Because of this intervention one parent in North Tyneside was able to access a further £414 per month of welfare support that was owed to them.  Other families have had £8,000 and £11,000 in backdated money they didn’t realise they were owed.  That amount of money is life changing when you’re on the knife-edge of poverty, choosing between heating and eating.

But the truth is we can only do so much. We need Government to stop sitting on their hands and step-up with a bold plan to bring down energy bills, pay public sector workers properly and kick start our economy by investing in green jobs. 

For all the good that responsible corporations do, we cannot rely on private sector philanthropy.  The Victorians tried this.  Spoiler alert: it didn’t work!  Eventually we realised the only way to support and nourish our society was through a modern welfare state.  Then, as now, it required working people to come together and organise for fair pay and safe work. 

This Christmas we don’t just need corporate social responsibility, we need government social responsibility.

The devolution deal will give us the levers to start building a zero-carbon, zero-poverty North East

Last month, government announced that a new devolution deal for the North East was imminent.  Last week, Durham County Council voted to pursue devolution.  Constitutional change probably isn’t top of many Christmas lists. But over £4,000,000,000 of public investment for the North East is top of mine.   

That’s what the deal is worth – over £4 billion.  The headline figure is impressive.  Hopefully the full details will be cleared for announcement soon.  But since people are already discussing it on social media, it’s worth clarifying what a devolution deal is – and isn’t. 

In May 2019, I was elected as the first ever mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.  The three Local Authorities (councils) of Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle kept their independence, and gained new money and powers overseen by a mayor (me). 

All the new money and powers come from Westminster and Whitehall.  None of it comes from our councils.  Local councillors have exactly the same control as before.  Decisions on planning applications, on council tax, on taxi regulations.  Your council still empties the bins, looks after children in care, and a hundred other things.      

What did get devolved was an investment fund to boost our regional economy.  We’ve created 4,600 jobs with it (and rising), and protected another 2,700 that were at risk.  That’s a huge difference to 7,300 families. 

Regular readers will know about our Child Poverty Prevention work in schools.  Our Brownfield Housing programme.  Our schools climate change education.  Our small business growth programmes.  Our Green New Deal.  Our Good Work Pledge.  Our North of Tyne Crowdfunder.  If you re-elect me in May 2024, when my current term ends and the new authority begins, we’ll deliver all these great programmes across the whole region.    

The North of Tyne also runs “post-19 adult education” – vocational training for chefs, welders, computer skills.  22,000 people a year were trained before devolution.  Now it’s 33,000.  For the same budget.  A 50% increase in value for money, and an extra 11,000 people’s livelihoods boosted.  We run courses how and where they’re needed, instead of a one-size-fits-all model from London.

The new, expanded deal adds South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.  It’s still a “minded to” deal – each council has yet to make its formal decision – that’s how democracy works.  I’ve been working on this deal since I was elected, and our council leaders and teams have all helped shape it. 

The new authority gets the North of Tyne investment scaled up to match the new, larger, population.  It’s the largest devolved investment fund in England. 

We’ll get control of bus services – with joint ticketing.  £millions in new transport investment to improve services and build infrastructure.  Our northern transport network is a national disgrace.  People struggle getting to work and kids struggle getting to school.  The ability to fix this ourselves is a big deal. 

Police, the NHS, and Fire and Rescue won’t come under the new Combined Authority.  Their governance remains unchanged.    

I can’t give more details until we have official clearance.  So what isn’t it?    

It isn’t a new layer of government.  The seven council areas elect 526 councillors, two police and crime commissioners, and 22 MPs.  That’s whether we have devolution or not. 

It’s not a gravy train – there is no Mayoral limo.  I claim £0 in expenses.  I decline all offers of free tickets to sport and cultural events.  That’s just my personal policy, mind – I can’t speak for other politicians. 

None of the new money comes from your council tax.  My staff do work previously done by central government.  We’re a net wealth generator.  Every £1 invested from our investment fund returns over £3 to Treasury in payroll taxes alone.  We save the taxpayer money.

It doesn’t concentrate power in one person’s hands.  Combined Authority Mayors can’t choose their cabinet members.  It’s automatically the leaders and deputies of the Local Authorities, who get to vote on spending decisions.  Contrast that with a Prime Minister, or Local Authority leaders, who personally appoint their cabinets.  

The devolution deal won’t fix the Ukraine war or raging inflation.  It will give us the levers to start building a zero-carbon, zero-poverty North East.  That’s not a bad Christmas present.

Give us the tools to generate wealth and remove inequality and we’ll be soaring once more

The richest place in the country? Today it’s Kensington and Chelsea in London. But 150 years ago Newcastle was in with a shout.

Our mineral wealth was renowned. The home of the locomotive, the birthplace of the railways, supplier of ships to the world.  The place where renewable energy, turbine power and the electric light were invented. For two centuries the North East fuelled the industrial revolution and made Britain the workshop of the world. Just a hundred years ago, we were wealthier, per person, than the South East, South West, Midlands or Yorkshire.

So what went wrong?

Well the Government stopped investing in the North East. In businesses, in infrastructure, in people. The North East’s wealth plummeted from 93% of the UK average in 1981 to 73% by 2017. No other English region has declined so fast.

The answers to the economic problems of the North East lie in generating more wealth here. Do that and we reduce health inequality and skills inequality. Everyone benefits. Everyone gets richer.

We do that with more devolution.

That’s the case I made in the House of Lords last week with the 2070 commission.

Chaired by Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, it looks at how we should change things over the next 50 years, not just the next 5. Successful regional development takes longer than one political cycle. Longer than one Prime Minister. Certainly longer than a lettuce.

It requires the region to be in driving seat, not the Government in Westminster.

That’s also the message of the Gordon Brown constitutional commission that gets launched on Monday.  Gordon asked me to keep the details quiet until it’s launched, but it covers two broad themes: restoring trust in politics, and boosting regional wealth.  That’s two sides of the same coin. 

Replacing the House of Lords with an elected senate of the nations and regions will grab the headlines.  But it includes solid proposals to clean up politics. Banning second jobs for MPs. Letting citizens juries adjudicate on political corruption instead of political insiders.  That’s real people power.

I worked with Gordon and his team on the economic proposals in the report. How we generate wealth in places like the North East. How we make sure that wealth finds its way into the pockets of working people here and not billionaires’ accounts offshore.

That means powers to help everyone earn more. Small businesses, self-employed people, full-time workers, part-time workers. It means better child-care provision. It means devolving the careers service and Job Centres, so the whole system works to help people get better jobs, and not punish them for being unemployed. It means giving us the tools to boost our green industries.

Giving more powers and money to the regions produces better results. We’ve shown that over the last 3 and half years at the North of Tyne.

We took control of adult education 2 years ago. Training for chefs, and welders, and computer skills for adults. Right in the middle of the pandemic. It’s hard to imagine a worse time to take on something new. Yet we did it and got more bang for our buck. Before we controlled it there were  21,885 enrolments on a course per year.  Last year we had  32,769 – a 50% increase. For the same budget. With 96% of people who enrolled completing their course and getting a qualification.

A 50% increase in value for money.

Imagine what we could do with transport, housing, and infrastructure. Cutting fares and bringing in integrated ticketing so you can take a bike, bus and metro with a single pass for the entire journey. Retrofitting homes, cutting carbon emissions, and bringing down energy bills so that everyone has a warm home to live in. Seeing new light rail links built in years instead of decades.

Doing all of this from a single pot of money. Trusting us to spend it well.

Trying to do it from 280 miles away just doesn’t work anymore. If it ever did. What seemed like a good idea thought up by a minister or civil servant in Whitehall struggles when it makes contact with the ground.

The North East is a wonderful place to live. The people are friendly and hard working. The landscape is beautiful, our heritage impressive. We have world-leading industries.

Give us the tools to generate wealth and remove inequality and we’ll be soaring once more.

Employers risk their own growth by not employing a diverse workforce

“We don’t live in a meritocracy”, writes Reni Eddo-Lodge in ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’. “To pretend that simple hard work will elevate all to success is an exercise in wilful ignorance.” If I’m honest, I find the truth in that statement discomforting. I grew up in Teesside.  Hardly Richmond Upon Thames.  Deep in the Thatcher recession. I left school at 16. I worked low-paid jobs and moved up and up until I got here, the elected Mayor of the North of Tyne.

I’d like to think I achieved it all on merit alone. But I know that as a straight white non-disabled man I encountered far fewer barriers along the way than if I was disabled, gay, trans, a woman, a person of colour, or any intersection of those. And while I don’t think I’m ignorant in the way Eddo-Lodge describes, I understand that being aware of a problem is nothing like experiencing it. There’s a chasm between knowing the stats about discrimination and knowing what discrimination feels like, in your bones.

When I was elected, I promised to use my powers to host an ‘Equalities Assembly’. This would bring together local residents with ‘protected characteristics’. People who face barriers to finding good work because of their age, gender, race, disability, and more. We focussed on jobs because we work with hundreds of local employers. Training providers, too. We know there may be something we can do to make a difference.  

We held one assembly in person, and one online for people who – because of childcare responsibilities, neurodiversity, or other reasons – preferred this format.  It was here, at these events, that I listened to stories of discriminatory practices I didn’t even know existed.

One participant spoke about how the jobcentre told her to change her name on applications to something more “English-sounding”. Several times, I heard of people with high level qualifications in their home country falling victim to a vicious cycle. Apply for a similar job here. Get rejected because your qualification isn’t recognised in the UK. Apply for a lower-level job. Still get rejected, only this time because now you’re ‘over-qualified’. If you do get the job, the lower-level role is later used against you when you do go for a higher position. Compound disadvantage in full effect.

The challenges didn’t end once they’d got a job, either. Racism and sexism forced people out of roles. Another attendee had Autism and dyspraxia. They’d secured a good position with decent managers at a national company. But then their manager changed – and they stopped getting the support they needed.

A young single mum who’d experienced serious hardship described how she’d landed an “amazing” job. Working a few hours, each week. Limited hours meant she could afford the limited childcare. But now the jobcentre is pushing her to increase her hours. If she does, she won’t be able to afford childcare. If she doesn’t, her benefits will be cut. I can see what participants meant when they spoke about Universal Credit and “a sense of being trapped”.

The rooms were buzzing with ideas about how the North of Tyne Combined Authority can try to reduce and remove some of these barriers. One suggestion was convening a ‘truth commission’-style meeting, bringing together employers and people who’d experienced barriers to work.  Another was campaigning for spreading out a three-day a week, full-time role into a five day a week, ‘school time’ job – enabling parents to balance careers and childcare. My team and I have some serious thinking to do about how we can use our position to bring about some lasting change in the region.

“Employers are missing out on some real gems”, said one participant. They’re spot on. Employers risk their own growth by not employing a diverse workforce.

Diversity of background and experience means diversity of knowledge, character, thought, and ideas. What smart employer wouldn’t want these things? After all, as one attendee put it perfectly: “if you want resilience in an organisation, come to the people who have faced challenges.”

“I promise to never use, excuse, or remain silent about men’s violence against women.” 

Think of four women and girls you know. Family, friends, colleagues. Statistics from Refuge show that one on four of them will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime.  One in four. 

Let’s grasp the nettle, here.  The vast majority of violence is committed by men – 82% of violent crime and 95% of sex offences. While men are more likely to be victims of violent crime from strangers, usually other men, women are overwhelmingly more likely to be victims of severe domestic abuse.  49% of all assaults on women are committed by an intimate partner. 

I’ve seen it in public.  When we lived in our first house in Heaton, my wife and I were watching TV one night.  Angry sounds erupted outside, and on a neighbour’s path a man was pushing a woman against the front door, she was struggling to get away.  I banged on the window and rushed outside.  By then the woman was on the floor, and the man kicking her legs.  He ran off, I went to attend to the woman as my wife joined me. 

She was older than us, perhaps in her late fifties.  We asked her was she injured?  Did she need first aid?  No, but she would have a few bruises.  Did she want us to call the police?  No, she didn’t want that.  Would she like to rest inside and have a cup of tea?  Yes.  So we did.  Did she have somewhere safe to go?  Yes she did.  We called her a taxi and sorted out the fare. 

Everyone has to judge the situation, and keep their own safety in mind.  But please don’t just walk by – pretty much everyone has a mobile phone these days to call the police. 

While most violence is perpetrated by men, it’s not all men.  So why are some men so violent, when others find misogyny and violence abhorrent?  And what can we do about it? 

Some will have personality disorders that make them unable to feel empathy.  Some are badly affected by drug and alcohol problems. 

Long term studies show that traumatic childhood experiences correlate with lifelong effects.  Children experiencing parental or domestic abuse, or having a father in prison, or growing up in a home with alcohol or substance abuse have worse life outcomes.  This can include boys having a greater propensity to violence.  It’s statistical, of course – it would be offensive and wrong to assume that everyone with a tough childhood becomes a dysfunctional adult. 

Sadly, services that support children with trauma have been cut to the bone over the past dozen years.  As a matter of public policy, if we want to fix it, we have to fund it. 

That brings us to culture.  This is where all men can help, right away, by calling out abusive attitudes and behaviours against women and girls. 

I was fortunate to have these values as part of my childhood.  My Mam helped set up the women’s refuge in Middlesbrough back in the 1970’s.   I played with the kids of the women in the refuge. I remember being taken by her, as a seven year old, on the very first Reclaim the Night March in Leeds in 1977.  That was a response to women being urged to imprison themselves. To curfew after dark because a serial killer was at large.  If you can, support this coming Saturday’s Reclaim the Night March in Newcastle. 

We now have two strapping teenage boys of our own, and I’m humbled by how mindful many young people are to issues of misogyny and gender based violence. 

This Friday, 25th November, is White Ribbon day.  A campaign for men and boys to challenge violence against women and girls.  If you see something out of order happen while out or at work or you hear a mate in the pub make a dodgy comment – call it out, if you can, if it’s safe. It’s not ‘banter’, it’s not normal, it’s not okay. 

And please join me in making the White Ribbon pledge:  “I promise to never use, excuse, or remain silent about men’s violence against women.” 

It’s time men took responsibility to change this forever.

The year is 2060…

The year is 2060. My younger son is the same age I was back in 2022.

Global average temperatures are 2 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.

London is 6 degrees hotter in its warmest month. The summer heatwave of 2022 is now an annual event.

Much of the Northumberland coast is under attack by rising sea levels. Blyth is underwater. Jarrow and Gateshead are regularly flooded.

400 million people in China have been displaced by flooding and are now experiencing starvation. The 2020 floods there look like puddles by comparison.

The remaining Amazon rainforest – half the size it was at the end of the twentieth century – is on fire.

Arctic summer sea ice hasn’t been seen for two decades. The world’s refrigerator is on its last legs.

Global trade has broken down. Global cooperation is strained as new pandemics emerge in hot spots around the world. The 2020 Covid pandemic now looks like a drill.

An eighth of the world’s population now live in refugee camps.1.2 billion people. 200 times more refugees than 2022.

And that’s what kills us.  Not the weather.  The entire world’s supply chains have collapsed.  Failed states are the norm in the global South.  Our industrial capacity to build a zero-carbon future is gone. 

That’s one version of the future – the one we’re on target for.  And 630 lobbyists from fossil fuel companies are at COP27 in Egypt right now, with the express purpose of making sure we keep burning fossil fuels. 

How about an alternative?

That’s why we’re launching Net Zero North East England this week.

The climate emergency won’t wait for the Government to get its act together. So we’re not waiting. Big businesses. Small businesses. Voluntary sector. Public sector. Private sector. Everyone around the table. Everyone with the will to take action.  It was also a commitment in my manifesto to bring the region together like this, and it’s happening. 

In the North of Tyne we’re taking action every day.

We’ve put our own house in order. Our offices in the Lumen emit 364 fewer tonnes of carbon than similar office blocks every year.  We’ve planted trees to offset the remaining emissions. 

We’re investing in our future energy system so we’ll never again face the kind of energy price crisis that’s crippling family budgets today: £25 million in offshore wind – 15% of our budget. If the Government matched that percentage it’d be spending £169 billion a year. It’s actually spending £285 million.

We’ve launched a £2 million programme to equip people with green skills: retrofitting homes, maintaining electric vehicles, battery storage, wind turbine engineers.

We’ve launched a Green New Deal Fund to cut emissions and create jobs. £18 million for schools, nurseries, councils, small businesses, NGOs, housing associations.  28 projects already on the stocks. 

We’ve audited our region’s housing stock.  We’ve developed a plan to decarbonise homes through low-carbon heating and better insulation.  As soon as central Government makes funding available – and it will eventually – we’ll be ready to move without delay. 

We’re bringing new green employers to the region and helping the ones who are already here.

4,685 new jobs being created. 3,546 more than our target set by Government. 14 years’ progress in 3 and a half years.

We’re taking people with us and leaving no behind on our journey to net zero.

That’s why we commissioned a Citizens’ Assembly on climate change. A cross-section of the community looked at the issues in depth and told me what they thought we should do. 30 hours of their time, 30 recommendations. We’re implementing them. That’s democracy in action.

We’ve run the Mayor’s Climate Challenge in schools across the region. Giving kids the opportunity to grapple with the climate science and gain practical skills.

And we’ve created Crowdfund North of Tyne for small-scale community projects that make a difference to people’s everyday lives.  We’ve helped community gardens, rewilders, community kitchens, orchards, beekeeping, bicycle repair and more.

We’re just one Combined Authority with a tiny budget.  Imagine what the whole country could do led by a government that takes this seriously.

Well we’re not just imagining – we’re getting on with it, and building a fairer, more prosperous world at the same time.

Better public transport creates a virtuous circle

You know that feeling when you turn up at the station, look up at the departures board, and see your train is cancelled?  If you use TransPennine Express you do. 

A week ago I made a statement with the other Northern Labour Mayors.  Fragmentation, mismanagement and underinvestment are so severe that around half of all trains are cancelled.  Transport spending in the north is just £349 per person.  In London it’s £864.  It’s no accident that our rail service is so poor. 

Within half an hour Mark Harper, the new Secretary of State for Transport, emailed us all individually to ask for a meeting.  This shows the power of Mayors working together. 

The train companies are now negotiating with the RMT union without preconditions.  I hope a sensible solution can be found that works for the long term sustainability of our rail system.  That has to mean maintaining safety and service standards.  I’ve always found train crews and station staff friendly and helpful and down to earth.

Rest day working needs sorting out.  By law, train drivers have scheduled rest days – their version of a weekend.  We can’t compromise safety by not allowing drivers time off. 

Companies can negotiate Rest Day Working Agreements – supposedly to cover illness or supervise trainee drivers.  But some Train Operating Companies are using them to cover staff shortages.  TransPennine Express has lost over 60 drivers already this year but recruited about 50 to replace them.  And they started the year with a driver shortage. 

You don’t need a Masters Degree in Business Administration to see the answer: recruit more drivers. 

The North East needs a public transport system that’s reliable, affordable, and pleasant to use.  Our Local Authorities have come together to deliver exactly that. 

From 2nd January to 31st March, Metro fares will be capped at £2 for a single journey and £4 maximum daily fare if you use a Pop card.  So if you’re travelling from Zones 2 or 3, that’s quite a saving.  I use my Pop card all the time.  Even in Zone 1, it costs £1.65 instead of £2.30.  These savings add up.     

Bus fares will also be capped at £2 from 2nd January until March 31st.  Northern Labour Mayors pioneered this idea in Liverpool, West Yorkshire and Manchester. 

In the North East, we want to go further.  All across North East transport area – from Barnard Castle to Berwick – we intend to introduce a £1 fare cap for young people under 22.  That will make a massive difference to young people travelling to college or work from our towns and villages.  I was on BBC Radio Newcastle, and presenter Matt Bailey said when he lived in Stannington, his girlfriend lived in Widdrington and it cost him a fortune to see her.  So we’re helping young love flourish!

We’re putting more staff on at public transport interchanges.  People need to feel safe using stations when it’s dark, especially women and girls. 

The Metro Flow project from Pelaw to South Tyneside will be completed before Christmas, improving reliability. 

New, spacious Metro trains will be introduced early next year.  They have electric steps to cover the gap, improving access for people with limited mobility.  And unlike the privatised rail companies, we’re not paying a fortune to leasing companies – PFI on wheels.  The Metro is publicly owned, and we’re buying them outright.  That saves you, the passenger, money.    

We’re reopening the Northumberland Line, from Ashington, Bedlington, through Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park, Manors and Newcastle Central Station.  That should open December 2023.  

We’re in negotiations with Government to get transport devolved from May 2024.  I’d like to see the transport system run as one.  With real time information on a single app.  Where one ticket covers you from rail, Metro, park & ride or bus.  With secure bike parking and safe walking and cycle routes. 

Better public transport creates a virtuous circle.  As it gets better, more people use it.  More passengers allows for lower fares.  People can access jobs and education.  It’s key to thriving economy, and reduces carbon emissions. 

The contrast is clear.  National Government and a fragmented, market-driven system is in chaos.  Local and regional government gets things done. 

Dear Prime Minister……

Dear Prime Minister,

I hope this letter finds you well and still at this address. Congratulations on your appointment – second time lucky, eh?

Today was due to be the fiscal statement.  You’ll forgive me for saying I don’t envy the challenge you’ve inherited from Ms Truss, Mr Johnson, Ms May and Mr Cameron.  When you said, “mistakes were made,” the whole country nodded in agreement. 

You announced how our country faces a profound economic crisis.  Seeing as you held the purse strings and lived next door for most of the past few years, you’ll be fully aware of the challenges you’ve inherited from yourself. 

You warned of the “difficult decisions to come”. I fear you missed a beat here.  Millions of citizens face difficult decisions right now.  Between heating and eating.  Between paying their bills and buying their children winter clothes.  With this misstep in mind, I hope you’ll allow me – as someone who was directly elected to my post – to offer some advice.

We do indeed face an extraordinary financial challenge. We all saw the graphs with plunging lines after Dr Kwarteng’s ‘mini-budget’. But don’t use the North to plug Westminster’s gap in public finances. You promised to bring “unity” to the UK.  A noble aim.  If we’re to navigate our way through the treacherous waters ahead, we must do so together. On a level.

That means following through on the levelling up commitments of your predecessors. Before you entered No. 10, I’d been working for three years with Ministers and Local Authority leaders – north and south of the Tyne – to get a North East Devolution Deal that works for our region. It would deliver billions to invest in jobs, homes, skills training, and much more. It would deliver greater control over things that matter to people – such as transport. It puts tackling inequality at its centre. It would empower us to take stronger action against the climate crisis. We just need your Government to let us sign on the dotted line. Please don’t let this be another Westminster casualty of chaos.

Warnings about “a return to austerity” are concerning. Partly, because I’m not sure how we can return to something we never left.  The gaping holes in local authority budgets have never been closed.  Teachers, nurses, firefighters, police, rail workers, posties, university staff, ambulance drivers, physios, council workers – pretty much every keyworker has seen their pay fall far behind inflation.  There’s a recruitment crisis.  Every public service is creaking.  

Austerity doesn’t even work. It didn’t fix the public finances under Cameron; it won’t under you. You cannot cut your way to growth.  What does work – and I speak from experience – is investing now to save later. We’ve proved that at the North of Tyne. We’re creating over 4,600 high-quality jobs. We’ve invested millions into our region and communities and trained nearly 30,000 people so they earn more and power our economy. And it pays for itself with long-term prosperity.  Every £1 I invest returns over £3 to your Treasury in payroll taxes alone.    

Nice one on re-instating the fracking ban, though – well done.  The climate emergency is upon us.  This summer it was 40C in a country otherwise infamous for being cold and wet.  Floods displaced 33 million people in Pakistan.  Forests are burning and crops are failing.  Demoting Alok Sharma and not going to COP27 does not send a good message. 

I urge you not to miss the opportunity to make Britain a clean energy superpower.  Here in the North East, we’ve made huge investments in offshore wind and electric car battery plants.  Our Tyne Taskforce is supporting industry.  We’re skilling thousands of people for green jobs.  We’re teaching climate education in schools.  We’ve got a plan ready to insulate homes and keep down energy bills.  Back us – with your support we can lead the world.   

And support our Northern transport network.  Londoners receive nearly three times more investment per head than we do.  You have the power to reverse that – let’s invest in the transport we need to power up the North. 

Your Government’s 2019 mandate was built on a promise to level up Britain.  Don’t abandon us: the North remembers.

Yours,

Jamie

All’s well that ends well?

Last week the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was in competition to see if she could outlast a lettuce.  She lost.    

“If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction,” says Fabian, in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.  One of my retired friends texted me with more contemporary language, “Cabinet ministers ‘unequivocally’ backing Boris Johnson.  WTAF?” 

At PMQ’s two weeks ago, the PM promised “Absolutely, absolutely,” no public spending cuts.  Since then the Home Secretary resigned.  Poor Suella, deprived of her dream to oversee the deportation of refugees to Rwanda in time for Christmas.  Monday’s emergency statement ditched Trussonomics.  Jeremy Hunt eviscerated the PM’s authority with promises to cut spending to every department.  The U-turn on a U-turn over the state pension triple lock.  Pushing and shoving to bully MPs to vote for environmentally destructive fracking.  The Chief Whip and her deputy resigned and unresigned. 

The Government rowed back on their flagship energy policy – which they all supported.  No U-turn on removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses, mind.  Bankers are the one cohort the Tories protect from the cost of living crisis. 

Wednesday’s PMQs saw the lettuce-opponent bellow she’s “a fighter not a quitter”.  Then promptly quit the next day. 

Rishi Sunak is the bookies’ favourite to replace her.  A man whose personal family fortune is larger than the King’s.  Mr Sunak is the richest person to ever to sit in Parliament, and as Chancellor oversaw the biggest increase in inequality ever.  His wife dodged £20 million a year with her non-dom tax status. 

But fear not!  Boris Johnson flew back from his Caribbean holiday.  His constituents may ask why he’s on holiday while Parliament was sitting.  He’s paid £84,144 to represent them.  It’s his third foreign holiday since his July resignation, after visiting Slovenia and Greece while still serving as Prime Minister and collecting his £161,401 salary.  So it’s okay for him, but when a postie or rail worker wants to earn enough to afford even one holiday a year, they are “militant unions”. 

I was in a meeting with my team on Tuesday morning when my phone rang, the caller was the BBC.  “Before I answer this, can someone check if she’s resigned?” I asked.  On Wednesday I was speaking to a hundred small businesses about the North of Tyne investment funds available to help businesses grow.  Despite the national chaos, I reassured them, the North of Tyne is a rock of stability.  On Thursday I was speaking to another set of businesses about our Challenge fund to encourage innovation in delivering low-carbon homes.  I checked my phone before I started to make sure my speech wasn’t out of date.  By the time I walked back to my office 100 yards away, the team had a laptop open watching the PM’s resignation speech. 

I would say this is all a comedy, but for the real life tragedy.  Even the Financial Times rubbished the PM’s economic mess with its “Moron Risk Premium” – the extra money Britain pays to borrow because of Government incompetence.  Millions of people are paying an extra £500 or so a month for their rent or mortgages because of moronic Government decisions. 

It’s affecting businesses too.  To get through Covid they had to take out loans.  One brewer told me he’s planning to consolidate them into one payment.  But now interest rates are spiking – far higher than in comparable countries.  Britain is seeing 1 or 2 independent breweries go bust every week.  That affects their suppliers, who won’t get paid, and their staff, losing their jobs in a cost of living crisis. 

I’m not one for schadenfreude.  But the Tories have long since lost any credibility for integrity.  Boris Johnson and Partygate hammered the nails into that particular coffin.  Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng dismembered Conservative economic credibility more efficiently than an industrial grade shredder.  Jeremy Hunt’s reprise of austerity’s greatest hits reminded us all how David Cameron and George Osborne crippled education, heath, transport, closed libraries and spawned foodbanks, and created this mess in the first place.  A true Comedy of Errors. 

It’s time to call a General Election and get a Labour Government.  The last poll I saw put the Tories on 19%, with Labour on 56%.   That’s a literal wipe out.  Not one single Tory MP returned.  All’s Well That Ends Well? 

We need a Government that invests in people not tax cuts

Who contributes more to economic growth – an engineer or a billionaire?  A hedge fund owner or a teaching assistant?  A doctor or an investment banker? 

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked.  Liz Truss is in competition with a lettuce to see which one lasts longer.  But it’s not about the individuals, it’s about the economic model they’re pedalling. 

All governments say they want growth.  But why does growth matter?  And is all growth equally good? 

Growth can increase our standard of living.  It can develop new technologies like computers and better medicines.  But definitions of growth miss out what’s hard to measure.  Pesky stuff like spending time with your family or safeguarding the environment.  So economic statistics usually ignore that.

As a society we can choose what we do with the proceeds of growth.  Let billionaires get richer, or invest in better free education?  Invest in fossil fuels that trash our planet, or renewable energy to provide cheap power?  Buy throwaway plastic fashion, or see live music, plays and comedy? 

Neoliberalism is an economic model that proclaims the ‘market’ is king.  If competition is allowed to run free, frolicking through the fields of wheat, then we all win.  If a business does something bad, say neoliberals, consumers will stop buying their products – so there is no need for regulation.  Markets, they claim, will self-regulate.  If workers don’t like their job or their pay, they can get another one. 

Did you spot the flaw in the theory?  That’s right: it’s bollocks.  It does not correspond with reality.   As a worker, quitting your job leaves you unemployed and trapped in debt.  You get higher wages in the same job by using collective bargaining power.  Which is why neoliberals hate trade unions. 

As a consumer, you get no choice about which water company to use.  It’s almost impossible to buy from only ethical companies.  The bad ones spend a fortune on greenwash and brand identity. 

According to economic textbooks, companies make goods, sell the goods, then re-invest the profits.   That still happens a bit – but like a mafia operation, the casino economy has muscled in, killing growth.  

Rent seeking is where people get rich for owning something, despite doing nothing productive.  Like the Private Finance Initiatives – PFI.  Investment bankers stumped up the cash for £13 billion worth of hospitals.  The National Audit Office calculated that public sector PFI repayments will cost us £199 billion until the 2040s.   Too much NHS spending goes to billionaires instead of staff wages. 

Share buybacks are another financial trick.  Profitable corporations could invest in research & development, staff training, or higher wages.  Or use those profits to buy its own shares, and cancel them.  With fewer shares left, the dividend per share increases, and so does the share price.  CEOs and boards get paid more if share prices rise.  BP, Shell, Amazon, Apple, Glencore, Qantus all do it. 

Shareholders have netted £440 billion above inflation since 2008, while wages have fallen £510 billion below inflation.

Real growth comes from investment in productive businesses.  That’s our plan at the North of Tyne.   Last Tuesday I visited Verisure at Quorum, near Four Lane Ends.  They’re the first company I brought to the region.  They make alarm and security systems and provide a real service people value.  They look after their staff – now over 600 people. 

On Thursday, I visited Thoughtworks – who we brought here last year.  Their new office on Grey Street employs 36 people on good salaries, and will grow to 200.  They make state of the art digital systems so everyone can benefit from the internet.  

We need a national government that invests in people, not tax cuts.  Better health.  Better education.  Eliminating poverty.  Without skilled, healthy people with a good standard of living, there will be no growth.  Austerity has wrecked growth and destabilised the public finances. 

With the billionaire, their bank balance grows.  With the engineer, the nation’s economy grows.  With the craftsman who laid the bricks of the engineer’s house, the economy grows.  With the teacher who educates the engineer’s kids, the economy grows.  With the doctor who keeps the engineer and her family well, the economy grows.  That’s real, robust, fair economic growth.

The war on woke has become a war on facts

“There is no absolute poverty in this country… people who do not have food and shelter.”  “Relative poverty is merely that you can’t afford the Sky television, you can’t afford the foreign holiday and you can’t afford the car.” 

“There are an awful lot of dole scroungers.”  “I find it hard to believe” that parents are skipping hot meals so they can feed their children.  “Dole scroungers is a succinct way of describing” them. 

Not Mr Bumble from Oliver Twist or Ebenezer Scrooge from a Christmas Carol, but video interviews from the 2022 Conservative Party Conference.  I can’t help thinking that some people needed to be hugged more as children.  To be fair, one Tory council leader described real-terms benefits cuts as “immoral” and made an eloquent case against it.   

Conservative Party Chair, the Rt Hon Jake Berry MP, said, though, “People know that when their bills arrive they can either cut their consumption or they can get a higher salary or higher wages, go out there and get that new job.” 

The war on woke has become a war on facts.  1.2 million people already have a second job.  12 years of austerity has cut education to the extent where Britain is short of data scientists, software engineers and doctors – but students leave university with over £50,000 of debt.  Care workers and classroom assistants and staff in railways stations should not have to leave their jobs to pay their bills.  The best way to “get a higher salary or higher wages” is to join a trade union – nice to see Jake Berry backing strikes. 

Everyone deserves a warm home, enjoyable holidays, and financial security.  Everyone deserves a pay rise to match inflation.  That applies to everyone who works or worked for a living, or is unable to work through caring responsibilities, ill health or disability. 

But we’re far beyond that.  Millions of working people and their families are in absolute poverty. 

“My son’s PE kit has just cost me £200,” Katy told me (not her real name).  Food, energy, housing and transport are breaking people’s budgets.  At the North of Tyne, we’re working with 90 schools to change uniform policy.  Like where PE kit requires the school logo, which stops parents buying it from affordable places like Asda George. 

Last week I convened a meeting with our region’s food poverty campaigners.  John McCorry told me the West End Foodbank is sending out 2,000 food parcels a month – that feed 5000 people.  That’s just one foodbank.  Their food stores have one third of what they need to get through this winter. 

Others spoke of the burnout amongst volunteers.  How voluntary and charity organisations unable do their core mission – like running youth groups – because they are running holiday hunger projects instead.  How we need sustainable models that maintain people’s dignity and mental wellbeing.  Like  food pantry models, where people pay what they can, but still get enough food. 

We’re working with these charities and volunteers to provide help & support – but we shouldn’t have to.  My job is economic regeneration – but how can we build a future of high-skilled, high-paid work when we have kids too hungry to learn?

Our national safety net has huge holes that need fixing.  I’d like to see the next Labour government take serious steps towards Universal Basic Income, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Again, dignity must be at the heart of our safety net.  When my kids were little, we did a foodbank shop every Xmas.  It was also part maths lesson.  While Caroline and I did a big foodbank shop, we’d give the boys a tenner each, a pad and pen, and set them away.   

Leon got tins of value veg, tuna, pasta, jam, tinned peaches, and cornflakes and UHT milk.  And got his sums right to the penny.  “I thought about getting people as much food for the money as I could and enough to stay healthy.”   

His little brother Nelson turned up with some tins of mango and big selection box of chocolate biscuits.  “I thought if people had no money left they should get something that would make them happy.” 

They were both right. 

Enough is Enough

I’ve just watched the Prime Minister on Laura Kuenssberg.  She was asked, as a result of crashing the economy “will you cut public services?”  Her words dodged the question.  But she blinked 70 times in 35 seconds.  Ms Truss lacks credibility in pretty much every way possible.  With non-verbal signals like that, no wonder she struggled to negotiate trade deals as Foreign Secretary.  Even her own eyelids don’t believe her. 

She won’t last.  Michael Gove immediately came out and stuck the knife in, decrying “the sheer risk of using borrowed money to fund tax cuts.  That is not Conservative.” 

There was a sense of belief and confidence at Labour Conference last week.  Much has been made of Labour’s 33 point lead in a YouGov.  I’m not convinced the margin is that high.  Survation has called every election in recent years, accurate to within 1%.  They put Labour 21% ahead, picking up votes not just from the Tories, but also the Greens.  Labour’s commitment to clean energy will have helped. 

The Tory collapse gives me no sense of joy.  I would prefer a competent government that isn’t wrecking the livelihoods and businesses of Britain.  I’d prefer to win on better polices, not the personal failings of lying about Covid parties. 

I recall Billy Bragg saying in a concert at the Sage, Gateshead, that as a young man, he didn’t vote in 1979.  He couldn’t see any difference between Jim Callaghan and Maggie Thatcher.  And how he regrets it. 

But a clear gap is opening up. 

On climate, Labour will invest in clean energy, so 100% of our electricity is fossil fuel free by 2030.  Plus massive investment in insulation and low-carbon heating systems.  The Conservatives want to restart fracking. 

On energy, Labour will set up publicly owned Great British Energy to guarantee security of supply.  The Conservatives will write Vladimir Putin a strongly worded letter.  And possibly return the donations Russian billionaires gave them.  Or possibly not. 

On working conditions, Labour’s New Deal for Working people outlaws fire-and-rehire and zero-hours contracts.  It guarantees sick-pay and holiday rights from day one.  The Truss Conservatives want to force workers to work even if they’ve legally balloted for strike action. 

On rail, Labour will nationalise the railways, ending the chaotic franchising system.  The Conservatives think privatisation works fine.  So long as workers accept pay cuts. 

On buses, Labour will allow public control of bus companies.  The Conservatives still think the free market is king. 

On cost of living, both parties would cap the price of energy.  Labour would fund it by taxing the excess profits of energy giants.  The Conservatives are funding it by taxing you.  That’s right – their “price cap” is being funded by borrowing, which means we, the people, carry the debt.  It will come from reducing our public services, as Ms Truss blinking well confirmed.

On justice, Labour will bring in a Hillsborough Law, requiring a legal duty of candour and disclosure from all public officials.  Families in any tragedy or injustice will be able to get to the truth.  The Conservatives have brought in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.  Protesters can be arrested if their protest has an impact.  What’s the point of a protest that doesn’t have an impact?!

The worst part of it, the Truss-Kwarteng “growth” plan won’t work.  The UK is awash with money in asset management funds.  Tax cuts aren’t needed.  What we are short of are investable propositions.  The reason we’ve created so many well-paid jobs in the North of Tyne is by working closely with businesses and people.  We match businesses directly to investment.  We work with residents to get them the training they need.  It’s remarkable we’ve achieved the results we have: 12 years of austerity has left us an under-skilled workforce, devastating health inequalities and obsolete infrastructure. 

The public mood has changed.  I spoke at the Enough is Enough rally in Newcastle on Saturday.  1500 people assembled at the Monument.  Ms Truss may be in a political death spiral, but a General Election could be as late as January 2025.  The foodbanks could run out of food before then.  It’s time for a mass movement of protest.  Enough is Enough. 

It’s not the cap on bankers’ bonuses holding us back

How do we explain Mr Kwarteng’s mega-mini-budget?  Why do something so obviously “up yours” to the working people of Britain as eliminating the top rate of tax for earners above £150,000, while sanctioning part-time, low-paid workers?   

Either he’s trying to fulfil Ms Truss’s ambition to be unpopular. Or he’s playing Santa Claus and delivering the Tory donors’ wish list.   He’s succeeding in both. 

The Tory backbenchers weren’t happy.  The people of Blyth Valley weren’t dancing in the streets.  Red Wall MPs will be thinking about their impending career changes. 

The pound crashed – which will spike inflation.  Interest rates will rise, along with mortgages and rents. 

They have no mandate for this.  0.2% of the electorate voted for these policies – the 81,316 Tory members in the leadership race.  Tory MPs were elected on a manifesto of levelling-up, not trickling down.  

The theory of trickle-down is simple. Sometimes called supply-side economics, it claims that if rich people get a tax cut, they’ll invest all their extra money and create loads of jobs, the economy will grow, tax receipts will increase, and unicorns and bunny rabbits will frolic in sunlit uplands. 

It doesn’t work.  It never has.  American supply-side politicians would say, “a rising tide lifts all boats”.  The truth is, unless you can’t afford a yacht, a rising tide will drown you. 

The International Monetary Fund, the champion of capitalist orthodoxy, said unambiguously, “when the rich get richer, benefits do not trickle down”.  Research published in 2020 by the LSE, based on data from eighteen OECD countries including the UK, was even more damning.  Tax cuts for the rich since the 1980s have increased income inequality without any gains in economic performance. 

You’ve probably seen various budget calculators – where you put in your earnings and it tells you how much better or worse off you are.  But they only tell half the story.  Take the energy price-cap.  With an average sized bill, you’ll be paying £2500 direct to the energy company.  But you’ll also be paying another £2500 to the energy company via the Government.  That’s still your money.  That £2500 will inevitably be cut from your health service, your kids’ education, your parents social care, your police and fire services.  If you work anywhere in the public sector, they’ll try to take it out of your wages.  It should come from a windfall tax. 

Economic prosperity has to be sustainable.  At its simplest, growth is just more money changing hands.  It doesn’t have to mean consumption of more material goods, or people buying bigger cars.  We could spend more on health and education and youth services.  More on retrofitting homes.  More on better public transport.  And enough to get to 100% clean energy production by building offshore wind farms and clean hydrogen production.   

We could invest in public luxury.  Libraries with modern computer suites.  Publicly owned gardens and swimming pools and exercise classes.  More live music and theatre and comedy. 

Every business leader I talk to tells me the same thing.  Growth stalls without skilled workers. 

At the North of Tyne we’ve created a jobs pipeline of 4,635 jobs – over and above those from organic growth.  We do it by working closely with businesses. Skills bootcamps that give both those in and out of work the training they need for a good green job.

We have skills programmes supporting people with neurodiversity.  People who’ve struggled with drug and alcohol dependency.  Carers who are returning to the labour market after years out.  And we link it with our child poverty prevention work.  Because getting someone a stable, fairly paid job on trade union terms and conditions is one of the best things you can do for them. 

And if you want to get more part-time workers working more hours, improve the care system.  Child care is so expensive, and in many places so limited, that parents and carers can’t fit into normal working patterns. 

It’s not the cap on bankers’ bonuses holding us back.  City high-flyers on telephone number salaries are already in receipt of bonuses at a record high – £5.9 billion paid out in March alone.  What we need is free life-long education and affordable childcare. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 25 Sept 2022

If the UK is to stay together for the next 70 years, it’s going to have to change.

UK state funerals are rare.  The last one was in 1965, for Winston Churchill.  They’re a time for national reflection – about the country we want to be as well as remembering the country we were.  And of course, the person who’s passed away.  May Queen Elizabeth II rest in peace.

Britain is a constitutional monarchy, not an absolute one.  We haven’t had a king or queen exercise real political power since William IV dismissed Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister in 1834 and appointed Robert Peel against the will of Parliament.  We’ve evolved into a democracy where our (unwritten) constitution says Parliament is sovereign, not the king.  If we want to change the way we run our country we can.

Many people want to keep the institution of the monarchy.  They’re entitled to want it.  Others want a republic – they’re entitled to their opinion too.  Our democracy should be strong enough for both groups to be able to express their views.  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right.  No one should be arrested for holding up a piece of paper.  That people have been detained for peacefully expressing republican views is disgraceful.

All social change comes from people making a nuisance of themselves.  Without the suffragettes women wouldn’t have won the right to vote in 1918.  Without the civil rights movement in America the Civil Rights Act wouldn’t have outlawed racist discrimination in 1964.  Without the anti-apartheid movement Nelson Mandela wouldn’t have been released from prison in 1990 and have become South Africa’s first democratically-elected President in 1994.

Our country’s shape has changed dramatically over the past few centuries.  The Queen’s father was Emperor of India until 1947.  The last big British colony – Hong Kong – was only handed back to China in 1997.  The UK’s current borders are only 100 years old – when Southern Ireland left the UK to become the Republic of Ireland in 1922.  The United Kingdom exists today by consent.  We recognised that Scotland had the right to secede in the independence referendum in 2014.  The people of Scotland chose to stay. 

The power vested in the UK’s head of state is minimal compared to, say, the US or French presidents.  The pomp and protocol involved are memorable – I attended Tyne & Wear’s proclamation ceremony.  But if we elected a head of state, it would imbue the role with a democratic mandate to govern.  So while I understand the republican case, I’d call for more urgent changes to our constitution. 

I’d like to see the House of Commons better reflects the will of the people.  The UK is the only country in Europe to use first-past-the-post to elect MPs, with the exception of Belarus.  If and when the UK finally moves to proportional representation, we need to keep a strong constituency link, and not have it dominated by party lists. 

We need to replace the House of Lords too.  That 750 people nobody elected decide on our laws is medieval.  Hereditary peers are there because their father was a duke, marquess, viscount or baron.  Life peers were chosen by a leader of a political party.  No other democracy on Earth has such an arcane system.  Let’s replace it with an elected Senate of the Nations and Regions, to serve as a proper check and balance on the Commons and the Government. 

Above all, make devolution real.  Transfer powers from Westminster and Whitehall to our nations, regions, cities, towns and villages.  Despite the rise of metro mayors we remain one of the most centralised countries in the world.  Over 95% of the tax raised in the North is spent by Westminster.  Only 5% is spent by branches of government based in the North.  We have a system where the new king can be proclaimed in ceremonies across Newcastle, Gateshead, Durham, Morpeth, North Shields, South Shields and Sunderland but where his citizens hear about the main tax and spend decisions affecting their lives when the Chancellor delivers his budget in SW1.  The only way to level up the North is to take power out of London. 

If the United Kingdom is to stay together for the next 70 years it’s going to have to change.  It always has.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 19 Sept 2022

The end of an era

The end of an era. Most of us never knew any other monarch. She brought dignity and restraint to her role. May Queen Elizabeth II rest in peace.

Seventy years is an incredibly long time to serve as head of state. No other English or British monarch has made it to a platinum jubilee. Starting in her twenties and lasting into her late nineties. It’s no exaggeration to say it was a lifetime of public service.

Fifteen prime ministers. The first being Winston Churchill and the last Liz Truss. Two of the longest serving in British history in Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. Two of the shortest in Anthony Eden and Alec Douglas-Home.

Bearing witness to history. NUFC winning the FA Cup. Twice. The discovery of DNA. The birth of commercial television. The Suez crisis. The decolonialisation of Africa. The first motorways. Comprehensive education. The abolition of the death penalty. The Beatles. England winning the World Cup. The legalisation of abortion and homosexuality. The Race Relations Act. The Rivers of Blood speech. Concorde. Britain’s entry into the European Union. SAFC winning the FA Cup. The first test-tube baby. The winter of discontent. The rejection (and later acceptance) of devolution to Scotland and Wales. Thatcherism. Inner city riots. The Falklands War. The Miners’ Strike. Aids. The invention of the World Wide Web. The first Iraq War. The channel tunnel. The Good Friday Agreement. The second Iraq War. The London Olympics. Grenfell. Britain’s exit from the European Union. Covid.

All of that happened on her watch. It was exhausting just to list it all. I can’t imagine what it was like to have a front row seat. Even the way we view things has changed. At her coronation, the pictures show a sea of faces. As King Charles III arrived at Buckingham Palace, there was instead a sea of arms – people holding up their phones to video it for posterity.

The country changed profoundly during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Some of it for the better. Some for the worse. We are more socially liberal than in 1952. Women’s and LGBTQ+ rights have improved immeasurably. Few people think your gender, race or sexuality are legitimate grounds for persecution – though sadly not yet everyone. But we’re also a more economically unequal country than we were then. The average property price in 1952 was, in today’s money, £40,000. Now it’s £260,000. Poverty and homelessness abound in the UK – the 5th richest country in the world. Health is better, thanks to medical technology. In 1952 80% of adults smoked, 15% smoke today. But despite the rise of gyms and fun-runs, obesity has risen from 2% to 28%.

The Queen was our head of state, not our head of government. She wasn’t a politician. Her role was to represent Britain ceremonially, and facilitate the democratic changing of the guard. The head of state ensures a peaceful transfer of power between different parties and political leaders. Her impartiality as head of state shows the professionalism she brought to her role. She had a weekly audience with people as different as Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher, and still managed to put her own opinions aside. Mind you, she did send some subtle messages. When Donald Trump visited Britain in July 2018, the Queen chose to wear a brooch given to her by the Obamas. Maybe she gave out a whole heap of coded messages we were oblivious to.

Her presence on the national stage helped give people a sense of stability, particularly at times of great upheaval. She had an 86% approval rating – far more than any politician could ever dream to have. That’s partly because she kept her opinions out of the public arena. 

It’s a sad moment for any family when their mother, grandmother or great-grandmother dies. The Royal Family is no different. They will need to grieve in private as well as in public. Millions of people will want to pay their respects too and mourn Queen Elizabeth II in their own way. We should also recognise that many in our nation feel differently about having a monarch at all, and respect their right to feel differently. Let’s give each other the time and space we need.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 12 Sept 2022

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.  If your pay is failing to keep up with inflation, if your burglary isn’t investigated, if your energy bill eats up all your disposable income, that’s politics affecting your life. 

On Tuesday, it’s a racing certainty that Liz Truss will be appointed (not elected) Prime Minister.  She plans to change the law to compel striking workers to turn up to work.  When the state compels people to work against their wishes, it’s called conscription.  And if it’s done for private profit, even for just one day, it’s called slavery. 

Whether Ms Truss will implement that is a different question.  She was a Remainer.  Then a zealous Brexiteer.  She supported Britons to fight in Ukraine, then she didn’t.  She wanted to build on the green belt, now she doesn’t.  She said the monarchy should be abolished, now she wants to buy them a new yacht.  She announced plans to cut civil servants pay outside of London, and the next day she denied it. 

I can do no better than quote Marx: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”  Groucho.  Less flippantly, I’ll quote Hannah Arendt, “If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer.” 

Every time someone says, “politicians are all the same,” the Donald Trumps and Boris Johnsons of this world smile inside. 

Last year, against civil service advice, Ms Truss took a US trade delegation to a private Mayfair club owned by Tory donor Robin Birley.  She and her guests drank two bottles of dry gin, three £153 bottles of a Spanish white wine and two bottles of red at £130 each, part of a total bill of £3,000 that was put on expenses.  On the rare occasions I take someone for a drink to politically lobby them, I pay for it myself.  My total expenses claims since being elected are £0.  I even pay for my own phone and laptop. 

Just weeks after the UK hosted Cop26, Ms Truss chartered a private plane for a trip to Australia. It cost us, the taxpayers, “at least” £500,000, burned 150 tonnes of fuel, causing 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.  She could have got on a scheduled flight. 

I have no official transport.  If I go to London, I get the train, standard class.  When I went on a visit to a construction project we’d funded the hosts told my PA, “We have a parking space for the Mayor’s limousine.”  “That’s very kind,” she replied, “but is there anywhere he can chain up his bike?” 

On balance I think politicians are the same as everyone else – standards of integrity vary widely. Most politicians I’ve met range from hard working to workaholic.

I’ll work with the new PM, and her new cabinet, as I have with dozens of ministers and Secretaries of State so far.  We’ve landed some good results, too.  Funding to reopen the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne line.  Over £100m in new bus funding.  £24m to build new homes on brownfield land.  £millions in extra funding for skills training in green industries and digital training.  And a massive amount of progress on a new devolution deal – to be announced soon, I hope. 

If you were a member of the Conservative party, you got to vote on who is the Tory leader.  You’d also get a say in who are the MPs who shortlisted them.  So if you want Penny Mordaunt to lead the Tories or Andy Burnham to lead Labour, or, erm, one of the other Lib Dems to lead them, join a political party.  If you believe in PR, join a party and lobby for it. 

You can be in a political party and still campaign in other ways.  On Thursday I’m speaking at the People’s Assembly at Newcastle Arts Centre on the cost of living crisis. 

Politics will affect you.  It’s a fact.  Shouting at the telly will achieve precisely nothing.  So you have a choice.  Will you affect politics, or get what you’re given? 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 5 Sept 2022

A love letter to the Labour Left

Take yourself back to May 2017, and a moment of hope we shared.  In the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing, the memorial crowd spontaneously sang Don’t Look Back in Anger. 

Theresa May’s snap election had looked a certain bet.  Then the Labour manifesto was launched.  Bold social democratic policies captured the imagination: public ownership of rail, mail, water and energy.  Strong on workers’ rights and reversing austerity.  From 20 points behind, we were closing rapidly.  Then came the attack on the 22nd of May, a suicide bomber murdered 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert, 1,017 others were injured. 

Political orthodoxy predicted a “rally round the flag” effect would consolidate the Tory vote and halt Labour’s progress.  But Labour defied orthodoxy, and in the spirit of that Manchester crowd, said if you want a peaceful Britain, you have to work for a peaceful world.  With 41% of the vote, Labour came close.  But not close enough. 

Fast forward five years – yes, it’s just five years ago – and hope wears thin.  Grenfell, Cambridge Analytica, Windrush, Tommy Robinson, Burqua letter-boxes, “Funny Tinge” Change UK, Farage wins the European elections, Alistair Campbell votes Lib Dem, May resigns, Johnson PM, levelling up promised, Parliament prorogued, Johnson landslide, Keir Starmer’s Ten Pledges, Brexit, Covid ignored, Covid rips through care homes, PPE corruption, Zoom, clap for carers, test & trace massive waste, Andy Burnham & co fight Tiers in the north, bodies pile high in their thousands, Jeremy Corbyn whip removed, vaccine bounce, Hartlepool by-election, Labour proscriptions, Andy McDonald resigns, £20 universal credit cut, COP 26 fails to deliver, number 10 cake ambush, Brexit unravelling, Ukraine invaded, energy hikes, inflation bites, Forde Report, Johnson defenestrated, Truss on the march, rail strikes, Mick Lynch wins the argument, Sam Tarry sacked, unions fighting back, the world is burning. 

No wonder you’re exhausted.  And angry.  It sounds like a Billy Joel song. 

You might have joined Labour with the Corbyn surge of hope.  You might have been in Labour all along.  The temptation to say “stuff it” and walk away is strong.  Some have left the Labour Party.  Others have been expelled for innocuous social media likes.  But it’s called struggle for a reason.  I don’t like Johnson or Truss, but I won’t remove myself from the electoral register.  I’ll keep my vote and use it. 

A world where billionaires extract wealth by impoverishing people, then offshore their profits while the planet burns, is unsustainable on any level.  The British public agree with us.  On a policy-by-policy basis Labour’s 2017 & 2019 manifestos are hugely popular.  Survation’s poll this August showed 69% want publicly owned water, vs. 11% who want it privately owned.  It’s the same for buses, rail, mail, and energy, to within a couple of percent.  You’re in the majority, and you’re on the right side of history. 

There’s a reason inflation is rampant and poverty is endemic.  There’s a reason workers are striking and coordinated industrial action is on the cards.  The world is still using the economic model that caused the 2007-8 crash.  Debt, speculation and fossil fuels are preferred to investment in people and public infrastructure.  Unless that changes, any Government, under any leader, will fail to provide financial security.    

Building a better world means challenging the status of the mega-rich.  It means challenging the right-wing myths as myths.  Reversing privatisation, reversing inequality, and taxing wealth.  Eradicating hunger and homelessness for good.        

We know that paints a target on our backs.  There is no route to a Labour victory by appeasing the Murdochs & Rothermeres.  Times have changed.  Millions are unable to pay their bills.  The public back the unions.  That 2017 manifesto is even more needed today.  Our First Past the Post system means only Labour can deliver it.   What stings most is that you saw this coming, and cried out “why is no one listening?” 

Our demands are pragmatic, not dogmatic.  I work with businesses every day to create jobs with good pay and conditions.  I work with them in our child poverty prevention work, our Green New Deal and tackling the climate crisis.  Britain has 5.6 million small business owners.  Labour should be pro-business – where businesses are ethical.  But strategic infrastructure and services should be in public hands.  Surpluses should be reinvested, not extracted for distant shareholders. 

The UK’s next Prime Minister will be chosen not by the British people, but by 160,000 Tory members.   In the last fifty years, there have been ten Labour leaders.  Win or lose, there will be another leadership election.  And another one after that.  And Parliamentary selections.  Keep your vote, and use it.  In 2015, 2016 and 2020 Labour members chose leaders who promised to renationalise rail, mail, energy and water, end tuition fees, and reverse anti-union legislation.  We need you. 

Hope fades when change seems impossible.  But we’re on a rollercoaster of change.  It’s 25 years since the 1997 victory.  The 90’s playbook is history.  When John Major fought a leadership election in 1995, around 60% of the public said they’d vote Labour.  In 1997 we polled 43.2%.  Today, Labour has an 80 seat majority to overturn, voter suppression and possible boundary changes to deal with.  Whatever the polls say, we need you. 

The next 25 years will be more unstable than anything since World War 2.  The struggle for dignity, equality and prosperity will be fought against a backdrop of climate breakdown, resource shortages, and global instability.  We haven’t got time to sit this one out and wait.  We need you.    

Don’t look back in anger.  Take your inspiration from the Jam: stop apologising for the things you’ve never done; time is short, life is cruel, but it’s up to us to change this Town Called Malice. 

We must break the production line metaphor of education

Thursday was a big day in the Driscoll household: my sons got their GCSE results.  I’ll not embarrass them by stating their results, but my 16 year old is off to sixth form to do his A-levels.  My fourteen-year-old worked out that if he blitzed a few subjects early, he’d have more free time for other things.  I think that warrants a merit in initiative.  

Along with thousands of other parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles across the country I was proud of what my kids achieved.  And grateful for everyone who helped: it takes a village to raise a child.  

The essence of childhood should be joy.  Education should be about discovery.  But for many kids, probably most, exams are a source of stress.  Those who’ve not the grades they hoped for will be coping with disappointment.  Or worse still, not coping.  

What would an anthropologist from another planet make of our education system?  Twelve years at school gets boiled down into a set of numbers from 9 to 1.  Or A* to E, in old money.  Grades get analysed.  Published in league tables.  Statistical comparisons made in press articles.  

“Why do you have this obsession with individually ranking children?” our alien would ask.  “Why don’t you measure whether the kids are healthy?  Or happy?”  Even if you believe the sole objective of public education is to prepare kids to be efficient work units, you should measure the really important things, like whether they can collaborate and work well in a team.  Or be self-directed.  

And most bizarrely, in all the discussion about education, no one talks to the children.  Childhood is not a preparation for life.  It is life.  Sacrificing the joy of childhood for some promised economic future is self-defeating.  

When I was at school, we were told a story that if you worked hard and did well at school, you’d get a job, and a house, and be better off than your parents.  If you had a degree, you’d have a good career.  Kids today don’t believe you.  And they’re not wrong.  You’re better off with a degree, but it’s no guarantee of a job.  Or that you’ll be able to pay your rent, your energy bills and save up to buy a home.  You could be paying-back your education until well after you’ve got kids of your own.  

Public education is a political football.  League tables.  Changing the curriculum.  “Back to basics.”  “In my day, we learned the 3 Rs.”  Or as Michael Gove insisted, we can’t have kids learning foreign authors like John Steinbeck.  Yet oddly, Greek and Roman classics were okay.  I like both.  

What never gets examined is the actual basics of education.  That’s the relationship between the teacher and the learner.  Teaching is not a delivery system.  There never will be some perfect formula of “knowledge” to be downloaded into young minds.  

Children have a vast appetite for learning.  We don’t need to teach kids to speak.  Or to use mobile phones.  Children, like adults, learn more from observation and imitating others than from following instructions.  And the most important skill anyone can master is how to form productive relationships with other people.  That hasn’t changed since we were hunter gatherers, and it won’t change in future. 

Every child has feelings, motivations, interests, aspirations, passions, ambitions.  The proper role for politicians in education is not to dictate, or legislate, or direct.  It is to empower education professionals to have better teaching and learning relationships with their students.  

To get this shift in education, and the willingness to fund it properly, requires winning the argument and telling the Little Englanders a harsh truth.  The world they pine for has gone.  And it’s not coming back.  

If they’re lucky, a child leaving school today will retire in 2074.  How do we educate our children to take their place in that future, given we don’t know what will happen with our economy next year?   

We must break the production line metaphor of education.  Our kids will need independence, self-awareness and interpersonal skills to solve the problems we’ve left them.  And the best way to foster that, is to keep the joy in learning. 

We only have energy security when we own it

Can you afford to pay triple last year’s prices for energy? The average household bill will now be £3,549 a year. For three months. Then it will rise again in November.

I’m sure the great and the good will tell us to turn down our thermostats and wear a jumper. I bet you never thought of that! But you still need to boil your kettle and cook your tea. You still need to shower and turn on your washing machine. If there’s a baby in the house, you need to keep it warm. If you’ve got a chronic chest condition, you need the air warm and dry, not cold and damp.

And if you’re working from home this winter, will your employer compensate you for your energy bills? Will we get a tax break for subsidising the economy from our home-offices?

It’s worse for businesses. The price cap only applies to domestic customers. Yesterday I visited a company we’ve helped win a multi-million pound new contract, creating a dozen new jobs. Their energy bill will rise from £900,000 to £3.5 million. An academy trust I heard about will see their bill rise from £1 million to £5 million. Schools, hospitals, Metro trains, the whole fabric of our society is being price gouged. 350% increases on average.

The calls for people to huddle in libraries to keep warm this winter is both Dickensian and farcical. Thanks to austerity, my local library is now a community enterprise, run mostly by volunteers. There’s two swimming pools run as social enterprises, how will they cope with rising energy prices? They did everything right – communities stepped up to provide services that should have been funded from taxes, and now they’re getting hammered again.

Why does electricity need to jump from 28p kW/h to 52p per kW/h? Only 37% is generated from fossil fuels. The wind turning the wind turbines doesn’t cost any more. Running the EDF owned nuclear plants is no more expensive. The answer is their contracts allow them to.

This is an emergency. We saw in Covid that we can act when we need to. Exceptional times warrant exceptional measures. Not only will we see families fall into unpayable arrears, we’ll see businesses fold and people out of work, we’ll see our public services paying their budgets to energy firms, and social enterprises will close their doors just when vulnerable people most need them.

Long term solutions are needed. Massive investment in offshore wind to electrify Britain and provide abundant cheap energy. Massive insulation of homes. It saves us a fortune. All this is in Labour’s energy security plan. I’d like to see us go further.

Right now we need an emergency budget. But we do not need to pay £100s of billions to energy suppliers.

Nationalise the energy supply companies. Nationalise the distribution networks. Nationalise the wholesale suppliers and electricity generators. And do it properly, with citizens’ panels scrutinising them, with local authorities advising regulators, and workers from those industries on the board. We can only have energy security when we own it.

Enough is enough.

You don’t need to feel powerless

It’s coming at us from all sides.  The cost of living crisis. The price of petrol. The climate emergency. The war in Ukraine. Hospital waiting lists. Winter is coming. Many, many people will not be able to afford to heat their homes or cook a Sunday dinner. It all feels a bit overwhelming.

There’s a saying, “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”  To see that philosophy put into practice, in real life, is inspiring. 

A little while ago, some neighbours in Heaton got together. They decided to clean up the grubby back alley behind their homes. I went down there earlier this year. Colourful flowers and trees have now replaced broken glass. Raised beds and plant pots seize your attention.  Now, at the height of summer, the flowers and in bloom and the fruit is ripening on the young trees. There’s a sense of care – of pride, even.

Last month, I spent an evening with the good folks at Shieldfield Art Works. They worked with the local community to transform a patch of grass, next to a car park, into a beautiful green haven in the city with fruit trees and climbing flowers. A place where children can play, where people can come together and forge friendships. Somewhere restorative.

Amy and Claire are both parents of disabled children. Both are driven to provide their kids with opportunities they may not get otherwise. Together, the two friends created Sensory on the North Sea. It’s a fantastic charity that has given around 200 disabled children the chance to be skipper of a catamaran for a day. The kids can drive the boat (even doing donuts, I’m told!) and have a whale of a time. The wind in their hair, splashes from the cold sea, the smell of salt, the whhrrrr of the engine – all of it is sensory stimulation these kids don’t always get but is key for their development and wellbeing. When it’s over, they and their families dock on dry land with a wealth of cherished memories.

These are just three of a list of community projects from our #CrowdFundNorthofTyne programme. I say ‘our’ programme, because it’s a partnership.  We stick in some cash, but it’s local people – like you – who do the creative work.

How it works is you have an idea for a project where you live.  Then you pitch it to us, and so long as it’s a project for genuine community benefit, you’ll probably qualify.  Then it goes on the website, and you can share it on social media or by word of mouth.  If your project is popular, it will get lots of likes and pledges.  When a project can show real community support, it gets a chunk of money from us to push it over the line and reach the goal.  Grants range from a few hundred quid to £15,000, depending on the project.  Simple.  It’s all explained on the website. 

We launched the scheme two years ago. I knew that you’d know your area and your community better than I do.  And I wanted to empower you to make a difference. 

Since then, we’ve given nearly £83,000 to 23 grassroots community projects.  They cover Northumberland, Newcastle, and North Tyneside.  They’ve included everything from bee-keeping to film-making. We’ve just opened our fifth round of funding, with another £90,000 available.   If you live in the North of Tyne, and have an idea for a project, you can get in touch right now.   

And here’s the thing. It doesn’t need to be all or nothing. You don’t have to be a human dynamo to make a difference in your community. You’re not alone.  That’s what’s special about #CrowdfundNorthofTyne and the community projects it serves. Some people can lead the charge. Some might volunteer. Others may only be able to pledge the price of a coffee to someone with a great idea for improving their community.  We all need each other.

So have a look – Google ‘CrowdFund North of Tyne’.  And could you do me a favour?  Tell people about this project, and encourage them to apply. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 22 August 2022

We hold these truths to be self-evident

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the United States’ declaration of independence begins, “that if you quadruple household energy bills then loads of people won’t be able to pay them.” Okay, so I added that second bit, but it’s true.  

Why have energy bills risen so drastically?  That’s the £4,266 question. If we don’t understand why they’ve gone up, we won’t choose the right solutions to bring them down again. 

Gas prices spiked before Russia invaded Ukraine. Global energy demand surged as Covid restrictions relaxed.  Then Russia’s squeeze on gas supplies, and profiteering by speculators, drove wholesale prices higher.  Britain imports 56% of our gas, and our pipelines are connected to Europe’s.  So British wholesale prices pretty much track the rest of Europe.  

But we’re also more exposed to global market swings than our near neighbours. Most of our homes are heated by gas and around 37% of our electricity is generated by gas-fired power stations.  We have some of the oldest and leakiest buildings in Europe.  And the fact Britain lacks gas storage capacity means that when the world sneezes, we get cold.  

The mix changes from day to day, but roughly 20% of our electricity comes from nuclear, and 43% from renewables.  But the market is set up so wholesale prices for nuclear and much renewable electricity track the gas prices.  You might think that means that energy companies are raking it in.  You’d be right.  Their costs are no higher than last year, but we’re being squeezed until our pips squeak.  

So what needs to happen?  

First, it’s a crisis, so act now.  Domestic energy, petrol, food, imported goods – all are going up.  The obvious answer is to give people an inflation-proof pay rise.  The wage-price spiral is a scare story from people who want a low-wage Britain.  Energy and food prices are not high because rail workers want a fair pay rise.  

Let’s uprate benefits and pensions too.  Pay for it with a windfall tax, and move towards a wealth tax.  A wealth tax would raise around £130 billion every year, and boost economic investment.  

Energy prices affect businesses too.  We need to get the price down sharpish.  So let’s regulate the price that wholesale suppliers can charge – it’s an emergency.  If they don’t want to trade on that basis, politely offer to take them into public ownership.  

In France, President Macron has stopped household bills rising by more than 4%.  By fully-nationalising the French energy company EDF – already 86% state-owned – with the French Government absorbing the costs.

Who owns Britain’s nuclear power plants?  EDF Energy.  Much of our electricity generation is already nationalised.  By France.  Just like our buses and train companies are owned by foreign governments.  Take back control, anyone?   

Second, we need a long-term solution as well as a quick fix. Otherwise we’ll face this problem every winter. Public ownership alone is not enough. 

We need rapid and massive investment in renewables.  And build them in Britain.  We know how.  In the North of Tyne we’re investing £25 million in offshore wind – 15% of our budget.  If the Government matched that percentage it’d be spending £169 billion a year. It’s actually spending £285 million. 

Heat pumps and electric vehicles will increase electricity demand.  With a massive offshore wind project, we could have super cheap electricity.  Unlike fossil fuels, no one has to pump the wind out of the ground.  When it’s windy, and supply exceeds demand, use electrolysis to make zero-pollution hydrogen.  On a calm night, when there’s no sun or wind, use the hydrogen to replace natural gas.  

And those leaky buildings won’t fix themselves.  Let’s invest in a massive retrofit programme. Nearly half the North of Tyne’s housing stock isn’t energy efficient enough. 140,000 homes need to be retrofitted. That’d create 3,500 local green jobs.  We’ve done the planning, we can get cracking straightaway if Government work with us.

The long-term solution adds up to energy independence. Britain’s a windy island with a massive shoreline.  Let’s use it.  

Our Government is doing nothing.  And doing nothing is a deliberate choice.  The Founding Fathers of the United States didn’t want to be subjected to foreign tyrannies. Neither should we.

What would count as the Lionesses’ legacy?

“Sweet Caroline, bah, bah, bah.” That song gets sung particularly loudly in our house because my wife’s called Caroline.  The boys and I were belting it out last weekend, after Ella Toone’s stunning chip.  And with a storybook ending, Chloe Kelley’s extra-time winner had us all bouncing.  I hope the next door neighbours were watching, or they’d have wondered what was going on!   

The sheer joy sparking off the Lionesses was contagious.  When Chloe Kelly’s excitement burst through and she ran off with the mic in the middle of being interviewed.  Gate-crashing the press conference, dancing on the table.  The team spirit was exceptional.  Sarina Wiegman’s management style is a study in calm, intelligent leadership.  The Lionesses made history and are determined their success leaves a legacy. 

But what would count as a legacy?  I was told last week that after Andy Murray won Wimbledon, grassroots participation in tennis declined. I didn’t ask for the evidence, but the person who told me is on the Women’s Super League board.  The concern is that success on the pitch doesn’t automatically translate into more vibrant participation. 

Women’s football is every bit as engaging as the men’s game.  I don’t need to be told that women are just as physical, tough and skilled as men.  I was a martial arts instructor for over 20 years and had the pleasure of teaching some of the most capable women I’ve ever met.  We had just as many women black belts at the club as we did men black belts, and they trained and fought together – there was no gender segregation. 

Look at the cash difference between the men’s game and the women’s.  England Captain Leah Williamson earns in a year what England Captain Harry Kane earns in a week.  And Harry Kane isn’t the highest paid.  That’s Cristiano Ronaldo, reportedly on £400k a week. The average wage of a Women’s Super League player is £47,000.  A year. 

Even when a sport has more top level funding, it can just mean more agents, more hoovering up talent for elite squads, rather than more participation or more people playing for fun.  You don’t have to be a world class athlete like the Lionesses to feel the benefit, and you don’t have to lift a European trophy to feel great after playing sport.  If physical activity were a drug, we’d call it a miracle cure, due to the vast range of physical and mental illnesses it can prevent and help treat.

The NHS and Public Health England recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise for adults.  School age kids should average a minimum of 60 minutes a day.  I looked up the figures – only 43.6% of secondary school kids manage that; 42.3% of boys, and 45.5% of girls.   Fully 33.6% don’t manage 30 minutes a day.  You could get that from just walking or cycling to school. 

I can’t help thinking our transport system contributes to this.  My boys are 14 and 16 now, but like all parents, I worried about them cycling or crossing busy roads when they were younger.  With bus prices so expensive, no wonder parents are tempted to drive their kids door to door.   

And austerity has salami-sliced budgets so thin that public recreation facilities are threadbare.  Youth clubs have all but disappeared, compared to my childhood.  It took a fantastic community campaign from the Friends of Elswick Pool, working with Newcastle Council, just to get a swimming pool available for thousands of kids in Newcastle’s West End. 

I’d like to see the North East lead the way with mass participatory sport.  We have the world’s biggest and most famous half-marathon – and that’s not just regional pride speaking, the figures prove it.  There are Park Runs, and grassroots sports clubs, and gyms across the region.  But I’d like to see a programme that’s designed for everyone to take part in, whatever their age, ability or body shape.  I’d like to see us come together, in a Great North Festival of Sport, that’s all about intergenerational participation and fun.  Maybe we could really bring our region together by closing it with a mass singing of Sweet Caroline.   

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 8 August 22 

The home of Great British Railways – Stephenson’s Rocket

Last Monday the rain came down like stair rods.  I dashed to Central Station, umbrella aloft, to welcome (current) Transport Minister Wendy Morton.  She hadn’t brought an umbrella, and always one to put chivalry ahead of politics, I found myself huddling under my umbrella with a Tory Rail Minister at a time of national rail crisis.  The things I do for this job.  We walked through the rain bouncing off the pavement to the nearby Common Room, formerly the Mining Institute. 

Great British Railways is looking for a home.  GBR is the new body that will oversee train operators, infrastructure and stations.  It’s not taking the rail network fully into public ownership, mind, which it should.  Too much of Britain’s infrastructure is run for profit but owned by foreign governments.  That’s part of the reason energy and transport are so much more expensive in the UK.  But I digress.

We were there to persuade the minister to choose Newcastle for GBR’s home.  Part of the process is a public vote – if you haven’t already, please vote online for Newcastle. 

Talented local poet Papi Jeovani set the scene.  Members of the local investment team made the financial and logistical case.  I made the strategic and historic case, avoiding puns about being “on the right track”. 

Flashback 18 years, I said, and I was on honeymoon.  My wife and I walked around the agora in Athens.  Pnyx hill, near the Acropolis, was the ancient meeting place of Athens’s citizens.  The ‘bema’ – stone platform – is still there.

I stood on it, in the footsteps of giants.  I imagined Pericles giving the funeral speech for those lost in the Peloponnesian war.  The Athenian citizens choosing to reject tyranny and embrace democracy.  It gave me goosebumps.  It’s like the history rises up from the ground and you feel it through your feet. 

The site we’re offering for Great British Railways is the exact place Stephenson and his engineers built the Rocket and the Locomotive two centuries ago.  Not across the city, or nearby; the exact place.  Other cities may have connections, but, like the Pnyx and democracy, this is where it really started. And, like democracy, it changed the world.  If you want to inspire the workers at GBR, this is its spiritual home. 

The North of Tyne is by far the geographically largest Combined Authority.  Yet we don’t have a single mile of three lane motorway.  You can’t get from North to South or East to West by dual carriageway.  If the Department of Transport had been in Newcastle, we’d miraculously have a great road network.  It would just have been on their radar. 

The Climate Emergency dictates thinking beyond mass road building.  Bringing GBR to Newcastle will give the North East the attention we need to redress decades of underinvestment. 

We have the Tyne & Wear Metro – Britain’s second biggest light rail system, with a new fleet of trains being built right now.  Our office space is cheaper than other cities, and in the heart of a transport hub. 

There’s the Hitachi rail factory just down the road.  We’re leading Europe on battery technology to decarbonise transport.  There are 3000 rail workers already in the region.  Four excellent universities within a few miles, and a University Technical College right on the site.  What better way to inspire those students than to be learning right next door to the home of GBR?  

Our commitment to zero-carbon transport is unwavering.  I’ve spoken to dozens of Ministers and Secretaries of State to get transport powers devolved.  Our plans for fully-integrated public transport are ambitious.  I don’t own a car, and get around using public transport, walking and cycling.  (I have a clean driving license, just in case you’re wondering!)  

And it’s Great British Railways – not Great English Railways.  Choosing Newcastle shows Scotland that we want to keep our union.  I don’t want passport controls at Berwick. 

But ultimately, it’s a political decision, and a Conservative politician will make it.  It’s a test of whether they’re serious about levelling up. 

The public vote to back Newcastle is open until Monday 15th August – please vote and prompt your family and friends too. https://gbrtt.co.uk/hq-competition-public-vote/

Devolution works – while Westminster fulminates, we’re delivering our targets and getting things done.

I was in London last Wednesday and Thursday.  I’d lined up meetings with politicians, influencers and media – shaking people’s hands and looking them in the eye is all part of the process of getting a better deal for the North East. 

I gave a speech to a think tank, nudging government policy on levelling up, and breaking the Oliver Twist approach, “please sir, I want  some more.”  Until we get more control over our own transport, education, house building and investment, we’ll always be low down Westminster’s list of priorities.   

Then on Tuesday night the chancellor and previous chancellor resigned.  I’m sure the PM was thinking of calling an Autumn General Election to head of a challenge.  No doubt Messrs Sunak and Javid saw it too, and started the resignation avalanche.  People have been trying to get rid of Johnson all year.  I was in London 24 hours and he resigned.  Just saying…

I’ve said all year there’s an inevitability to Johnson’s resignation, because he was actually guilty.  Of lying.  Of covering up his lies.  Of criminal behaviour.  Of brushing serious sexual offences under the carpet.  And lying about it.  Greased piglet or otherwise, his career was circling the drain from January.  It was a Ponzi scheme: every time he was in trouble, he’d promise something bigger and bolder, and tell bigger whoppers.  But he could never honour his promises: honour is not part of his character.  

Many talk of honour, few live it.  MP after Tory MP resigned using the same template: “The PM has got the big calls right, but integrity and honour mean I must resign.”  Translation: “I knew he was a liar from the off, but while I thought he’d win us an election, I kept schtum.”  Honourable members?  

He did not “get the big calls right”.  His version of Brexit was not “oven ready” – the Northern Ireland protocol is unravelling.  Britain had one of the highest Covid death rates in Europe.  Chaotic hokey-cokey lockdowns.  Test and trace wasted £37 billion.  £37 billion!!  Officially described as “an eye watering waste of money”.  Vaccine roll out?  In Europe alone, the UK is behind Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Greece for the percentage of population fully vaccinated. 

The next PM will be chosen not by the British people, but by Conservative party members.  The Tory MPs choosing which two hopefuls make final ballot are the most sophisticated and duplicitous electorate there is.  There will be promises made, threats, deals, and double-crosses.  It makes for great drama.  But terrible government.   

Britain is in chaos.  You can’t get a passport.  NHS waiting times are out of control.  Kids with good A-levels can’t get on university courses. Families can’t afford a holiday.  The hard mathematical truth is people’s bank accounts are running out of money before the end of the month. 

We’ll see a summer of posturing from Tory hopefuls.  Feeding time at the zoo – red meat thrown to the party faithful.  Culture wars, blaming immigrants.  But not a peep about non-dom tax exiles.    Illogical calls to lower taxes so people have more money in their pockets.  The best way to put more money in people’s pockets is to give them a pay rise. 

And the convoluted back-stories.  We’ll see re-runs of the Four Yorkshiremen sketch – “When I were a lad…” and how they became millionaires by honest work and paying their taxes.  Three of the contenders have been Chancellor of the Exchequer and have used tax avoidance to reduce their tax bills.  All in it together? 

Labour must look like a government in waiting.  And convince the British people we have a plan to get them out of this mess. 

My task is to get us the best deal for the North East.  As the resignations flooded in, I was making contact with new ministers, and ex-ministers.  I’ve been Mayor for three years, and I’m on my fifth local government minister.  Three resigned, one sacked, one new one.  It happens.  We’re at an advanced stage of negotiations.  New ministers will want to show government is functioning.  And devolution works – while Westminster fulminates, we’re delivering our targets and getting things done. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 11 July 2022

We’re showing how socialists in regional government can deliver for the working class

This summer we’ll see Tory leadership hopefuls vying to outcompete each other in a neo-Thatcherite race to garner votes from their faithful. The risk is Labour sits back: “Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake.”

Wrong. If the labour movement abandons the field of ideas to the Tory competitors, we’re giving them a free run.

Yes, stay out of their squabbles. But this summer the people of Britain are facing a cost-of-living crisis.

Families will struggle to pay for a holiday. Fuel prices are through the roof. Real wages are through the floor.

Working people are being forced into industrial struggle just to protect the pallid status quo the past decade of austerity has left us with. And large sections of our population are already disaffected. This summer, we could see discontent spiral into the blind alley of rioting.

While the Tories up the ante on blaming the victims of austerity, Labour must look like a government in waiting. A real government that can offer real hope to the very real problems people see in their daily lives.

Otherwise some will fall for the same old Tory trick: “We’ve changed! Take us back! We’ve got rid of that awful Mr Johnson. You can trust us with the economy. Sure, there’ll be some harsh medicine, but we’re all in it together.” Served up with a healthy dose of culture wars.

The antidote is a national programme that works for workers.

Ending profiteering and stabilising energy prices by bringing utilities into public ownership.

Giving all those key workers who kept our country running through the pandemic an immediate cost of living pay rise.

Outlaw fire and rehire and other abusive employment practices. And let’s redefine “affordable” housing — 80 per cent of local market price is not affordable to young families starting out. There’s nothing wrong with the words “council” and “housing.”

And challenge the racism head-on: relocating people to Rwanda or keeping them in detention camps is immoral.

And we back it up by pointing to the evidence of what socialists in local, regional and Welsh governments have done.

I’ve been mayor for three years. We set up a brand new combined authority from scratch. On my first day, we didn’t even have marker pens for the whiteboards.

I declared a climate emergency. Our Green New Deal is now operational — to fund low-carbon manufacturing with local firms, restore peat bogs to increase biodiversity, and help public-sector buildings generate renewable energy.

We’ve invested in Battleship Wharf in Blyth and the Swan Hunter shipyard site for offshore wind — I’m looking forward to the day we see engineers back at work there.

We’ve boosted our offshore industry. We’ve created jobs in digital firms. In battery technology. In manufacturing modular buildings for high-tech facilities that don’t use fossil fuels. This is the green industrial revolution in action.

We’re working with the NHS to insource manufacturing jobs in their supply chain, reducing energy and reversing profiteering. Our culture and creative fund supports freelancers in arts and culture.

Kids are getting a hands-on climate education, measuring biodiversity at primary school, working on real engineering challenges at secondary, and sixth-formers working with computer game developers on climate change games.

Our Spacehive crowdfunder directly empowers communities to choose their own projects. We’ve funded community gardens in Newcastle, beekeeping on the Meadow Well and beach wheelchairs at Cullercoats.

We’re building community-led housing and social housing on brownfield sites. And we have a clawback in place so developers who make large profits have to pay it back, so we can make more homes affordable. But we still need the law changing to make council housing viable again.

The Tories cut the Union Learn project. We’ve restored it and made it stronger — because unionised workplaces are more productive, safer, and have lower staff turnover. Labour politicians must never shy away from standing with our sisters and brothers in the trade unions.

Our skills programme leaves no-one behind. Individual coaching and support for people with autism, or neurodiversity, and young people who’ve had a tough start in life, and adults with complex needs around mental illness and substance abuse.

In our first year, despite the pandemic, 28,800 people enrolled in adult skills courses, boosting their earning potential. The number of working-age adults without qualifications has fallen from 7.1 per cent to 6 per cent in just one year!

We’re tackling the real wrecking ball that crushes people’s futures: runaway finance capital. It’s a small start, but we’re working with co-ops and socially trading organisations like charities, with our £15 million Access to Finance fund — recycling money in our region. And there’s much more in the pipeline.

Government set us a 30-year target of 10,000 jobs. By now, we should have a pipeline of 1,000 new jobs.

The reality is 4,586 new jobs and another 2,700 jobs saved by our investment through the pandemic. That’s 13 years progress in three years.

Creating good jobs generates wealth. For every £1 I spend, the Treasury recoups over £3 in payroll taxes alone.

Then there’s the economic benefits of having people earning a good living rather than living in poverty and insecurity. The notion that leaving industrial strategy to the free market is somehow good value for money is nonsense.

Our Good Work Pledge underpins all these jobs. It guarantees mental health support at work. An end to all exploitative contract practices. Trade union recognition. In-work progression to turn a job into a career. And the Real Living Wage — £20 a week more than the minimum wage, and much more for under-25s.

That firms can pay someone less based on their age is a naked injustice. Employers covering 40,000 workers have now signed up to our Good Work Pledge.

What’s the driving force for this success?

Collaboration. Co-design. Working with the people on the front line, who do the work in our society.

I work closely with our trade unions. And I stand with workers when they need solidarity.

The Durham Miners’ Gala — the Big Meeting — is about solidarity.

The banners. The traditions. The speeches. And I’m sure a few beers.

It’s about recharging the batteries of the labour movement for the next phase of the struggle to build a better world.

When people come together, inspiring things happen.

I was flagging a bit by late Friday afternoon.  It was time to head out on my bike for the opening of Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) community garden. A week of back-to-back meetings was taking its toll and my energy levels were on the low side.  The fact that it was chucking it down didn’t help. 

That all evaporated with the warm welcome I received.  Rev Alison Wilkinson has pastoral oversight of SAW, previously known as The Holy Biscuit (which brought to mind 1970’s Batman).  It was one of those places and events which inspires and energises.

What had been a patch of grass next to a car park is transformed into a flourishing community garden.  A green, wildlife-friendly oasis in the heart of a busy urban area.  The North of Tyne match-funded their crowdfunder, so they could afford tools and trees, and they’d invited me to come and celebrate it.  

There’s a wild-flower meadow, raised vegetable beds and fruit trees. I recognised some Red Windsor apples – I grow them in my own garden, they’re crunchy, delicious and grow well in our climate.  There’s space for gatherings and for contemplation, a cooking area for socialising.  Together, they make a common ground for growing new friendships, building a sense of community in the middle of a dense urban area.  There was a real buzz about the place, and it wasn’t just the bees.  People shared food and swapped tips on growing veg and fruit, kids ran around playing, safe from traffic.    

There’s also the outdoor gallery, “PROCESS” – seven large-scale posters on the outside of the SAW building.  They describe it as “a form of protest in order to laugh at power, talk back and weep out loud.”  Lydia Hiorns the Programme Manager, told me how growing food as a communal activity builds local solidarity and raises understanding of climate change. 

The project works seamlessly with the local cooperative, Dwellbeing Shieldfield, and there a weekly gardening group.  Lots of local residents live in flats and have no garden.  Some are older residents, who enjoy a garden without having to do the heavy digging and weeding.  Others are refugees, from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan. 

I chatted to a young couple with two small children, newly arrived in the UK as refugees and now placed in a local hotel.  I watched their smiles as they spoke of the welcome and hospitality they had received at the garden.  It’s given them new hope and boosted their children’s happiness and confidence.  Five years of instability since escaping Iran had taken its toll.

Fiona, who’s lives in Shieldfield for donkey’s years, described how much she enjoys hearing the stories of new friends from different countries and cultures, and how she relaxes in the garden with a new perspective on the world.   

And there’s plans to grow beyond the community garden.  In the centre’s workshop space, a wall-sized map of Shieldfield catches your eye. It’s no ordinary map, but an imagining of Shieldfield as a “garden of edible ideas.”   Dr Mikey Tomkins is a specialist in urban agriculture and greening innovation. He invited residents to imagine how the multitude of hidden and public spaces in Shieldfield could be repurposed for growing food and as green spaces.

It’s an ambitious idea, and Dr. Mikey stresses it’s a concept, not a polished plan.  But we’re seeing more of this across the North of Tyne.  Nearby in Newcastle there’s Greening Wingrove in Fenham, and in Heaton back-lanes are bursting into colour with flowers and fruit trees, all supported by the North of Tyne.  There’s loads more – Hexham, Heaton, Byker, Whitley Bay, Scotswood, Cresswell and Meadow Well.  If you want to do something in your area, Google “Crowdfund North of Tyne”. 

After speeches, food and music, it was time to plant some climbers.  The clouds parted and evening sunshine broke through.  Rev Alison must be well connected.  I rolled up my sleeves and a new honeysuckle is twining its way up an archway. 

It had been a long day, and getting late, but thoughts of an “edible city” made my cycle home a doddle.  When people come together like this, inspiring things happen.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 4 July 2022

It’s time to reward the people who do the work in our country

“On 17 October 2000, I was having a normal day working as a host, then my life changed.  The train I was working on went over a damaged line at more than 100mph and it shattered beneath us, hurling everyone everywhere. As the train split, I was flung around like a rag doll, desperately trying to find something to hold on to. I’ll never forget those terrifying minutes,” writes a rail worker who now works in an LNER ticket office. 

Four people died needlessly that day because proper maintenance had not been carried out.  The laws of physics make no distinction between staff and passengers.  Cuts to safety endanger everyone. 

The RMT has stated they want to negotiate a deal with the employers.  They’re not even asking for a real pay rise – they’re just asking for pay to keep pace with inflation.  A deal would also involve working conditions, the right to time off, protection from compulsory redundancy, and proper training standards.  But government won’t let the employers settle. 

Network Rail hasn’t raised pay since 2019.  Staff shortages are rife, low pay will make it worse.  We’ve got one of the safest railways in Europe – for now.  But it could quickly become one of the most dangerous.  Network Rail’s plans would pay some safety-critical staff about £22,000, including nights and unsocial work, and using their own vehicles and fuel to reach different sites they’d have to work at. 

The train operating companies (TOCs) are all private companies, although around 70% of them are owned in part or in full by foreign governments.  The rail industry makes £100’s of millions in profits.  I’m pleased that German passengers have a good rail system.  I just don’t think our ticket-buyers and underpaid workers should pay for it. 

I’ve been saying for years that Britain needs to be a high-wage, high-skill economy.  Last year, the Prime Minister said the same thing.  I’m not a Professor of Logic at Oxford University, but I reckon a high-wage economy means paying people high wages. 

Strip out the erosion of workplace pensions, and real wages – what you can buy after inflation – have fallen in the UK over the past fifteen years.  They’re now being gobbled up by unchecked inflation.  Yet the UK’s top ten billionaires’ wealth has increased from £48 billion in 2009 to £182 billion in 2022.  An increase of 281%.  It’s time for a wealth tax. 

Wage claims follow inflation, they don’t cause it.  58.7% of the current inflation spike is caused by profiteering.  8.3% from increased labour costs – and that’s mainly staff shortages.  The rest is supply chain disruption. 

So that’s the economics.  But what about the morality? 

The tired old media lines of yesteryear have been wheeled out to attack workers defending their livelihoods.  “Union barons”  “ordering 40,000 members to down tools” “causing misery”.  Tory MPs blaming rail workers for delays to NHS treatment is pure gaslighting.  

It’s a democratic ballot.  When unions strike, they give four weeks’ notice of a ballot and two weeks’ notice of the strike.  I sit on the Transport for the North Committee, and the Rail North Committee.  We’ve told government for years that the system is crumbling.  All they have to do to stop the strikes is turn up and negotiate. 

Strikes are not the weapons of billionaires.  Or the people who make the laws.  Who give £millions to their mates in dodgy PPE deals.  Who have offshore bank accounts.  Strikes are the weapon of last resort for working people seeing their real wages fall and the safety and sustainability of their industry crumbling before their eyes.  It’s the railways now.  But teachers, NHS workers, postal workers, airport check-in staff, telecoms engineers, and even criminal barristers are actively considering industrial action. 

Ministers were quick to publish videos of themselves clapping for carers on Thursday nights through lockdown.  Now it’s time to reward the people who do the work in our country. 

When billionaires want to advance their agenda, they do it through the newspapers they own. If no one is listening to workers, industrial action is their only tool to protect their livelihoods and our public services.  I stand with the RMT and so should the Labour Party. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 27 June 22

Shy bairns get nowt!

Last year I was in a meeting with the other Metro Mayors, discussing how we influence central government.  “Shy bairns get nowt,” was my advice.  To a Zoom screen of blank faces.  A pithy phrase loses its pith when you have to explain it. 

A friend told me that they’d been to this excellent restaurant in Wall, near Hexham.  They pronounced it “Huh-gem”. Erm…Hjem, maybe?

If I said “Ahm gan hyem” how many people, apart from Geordies, would understand me?  Hjem, hyem – one word’s Danish and one’s Geordie, but they both mean the same thing – home.  And home is not just a word or a place, it’s a powerful emotion.  Ask Lindisfarne. 

Is cultural identity the reason Scotland and Wales have significant control over their own affairs, yet the English regions have so little?  English regions don’t share the same sense of identity with each other as different parts of Scotland do.  Scotland was an independent nation until the Act of Union in 1707. 

You have to go back a long way to find the independent Kingdom of Northumbria.  Or even Deira or Bernicia.  That history is not taught in schools.  Maybe I should commission a director to film an army of proud Geordies, faces painted black and white, all defiantly mooning a southern army who are shooting volleys of arrows at us?  The Scottish Independence movement certainly got a boost from Braveheart.  Ironic, since Mel Gibson is Australian-American. 

Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford said this week that Labour should prioritise local identities in its approach rather than pursuing a “pan-British sense of Labour”.  Welsh Labour had “maybe noticed a bit earlier than some other places the strengthening and importance of identity in people’s sense of political affiliation.”

Labour needs, he said, “a manifesto that speaks to the bread-and-butter stuff that people see in their everyday lives.”  Spot on.  I’ve been saying that in every interview and article on the subject since we emerged from lockdown.  Wherever you are in Britain, or the world, we’re all united by wanting the security of a home and a decent income. 

Devolution is about shaping our future.  Our heavy industry powered the industrial revolution.  North East livelihoods depended on what we took out of the ground, and what we fashioned it into.  Now we rely on what comes out of our minds, not our mines. We’re becoming a leading research centre, digital hub and pioneer in green technology. 

There’s the feeling, too, that people are friendlier in the North.  My niece, from Oxfordshire, was visiting our region checking out universities.  Slightly lost, she was taken aback when ‘some old guy’ in the street (she’s a teenager, so anyone over 35 has one foot in the grave…) asked her, “you alreet, pet?”  She was astounded that someone in the street would volunteer help. Mind you, this isn’t universal. A colleague at work, who is disabled, has been on the receiving end of some ugly abuse, and feels that Northerners are ‘more forthcoming’ rather than more friendly.  That’s not something to be proud of. 

We should be proud of our region, and our sense of place. We live in an area with an amazing array of towns, cities and landscapes.  From urban estates, to the rural fastnesses of Northumberland, to the wild and beautiful coastline.

And pride, as in house proud, impels us to make our homeland better.  What sort of a region do we want to leave for our kids, for those coming after us?

We do want to be known as ‘friendly Geordies’. So let’s be friendly. We should ask people who are lost whether they’re okay, and not leave them wandering about.  We should chat to strangers on buses and on the Metro. (Ever tried doing that on the Tube? I wouldn’t advise it). We should help people who look like they need it.  Lord knows, there are enough poor souls around at the moment who could do with a helping hand.

We want people to enjoy being in our region, and to be both welcoming and welcomed. We want everyone who’s born here, who lives here, or who just visits, to think of the North East as hyem.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 20 June 22

Boris’ political Ponzi scheme

Do you remember Bernie Madoff, who executed the largest Ponzi Scheme in history?  He had an extraordinary ability to persuade people to part with their cash.

Madoff was asked how he could guarantee such consistently high returns.  “I’m not giving away my trade secrets” he’d say, followed by some flim-flam. 

If anyone wanted their money back, he’d write them a cheque.  Money back, plus all the profits they were promised.  Word spread that the payouts were real.  He’d show investors charts and statistics showing how well things were going. 

It went on for years.  People said the normal rules didn’t apply to him.  He was some kind of genius. 

The thing was, he’d done absolutely sod all with the money.  He just stuck it in Chase-Manhatten Bank, and lived the high life.  Expensive homes in New York, Florida and France.  A big yacht. 

How did he make the payouts?  He took it from the cash pile.  As long as ever more people invested, he could keep up the lie.  Failure was inevitable.  When the scheme collapsed in 2008, investors lost a whopping $64.8 billion. 

Last week’s no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the sound of a political Ponzi scheme collapsing under the weight of its broken promises. 

He lied about Partygate, of course.  More promises and bigger lies, to cover up the other lies.  He got caught because, well, he was actually guilty.  So now they claim “He got the big calls right”. 

But did he? 

Remember “oven ready” Brexit?  That the UK could leave the European Single Market without jeopardising the Good Friday Agreement?  Now they’re talking about breaking the treaty they negotiated, risking a trade war with the EU.  Not to mention the queues at ports and airports.

Remember “levelling up”?  We were promised Northern Powerhouse Rail.  In writing.  Instead we’ve got rail chaos, driver shortages, and signal failures.  And a national rail strike because budgets have been slashed and wages frozen. 

He ignored the first five COBRA meetings, locked down late, causing an estimated 20,000 extra deaths.  Remember the failed test and trace system that cost £37 billion?  That an inquiry described as “an eye watering waste of money”. 

Remember the dodgy deals for PPE?  Ministers’ friends getting multi-million pound contracts for equipment that couldn’t be used.  Over £4 billion worth of useless PPE has literally been burned. 

We keep being told the vaccine rollout was better in Britain.  Check the facts.  I just have.  As of 1st June, Our World in Data, from Oxford University, lists the percentage of population fully vaccinated.  In Europe, the UK is behind Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Greece. 

School exam chaos.  Petrol has topped £100 per tank full.  Foodbank use topped 2 million people a year.  Fuel bills at a record high.  Inflation passing 10%.  National Insurance hikes for working people.

What sickens me most is him flying to Kyiv in a cynical attempt to save his own job.  Yet he rewarded Vladimir Putin’s oligarchs with special favours like a seat in the House of Lords. 

The morning after the no-confidence vote, I was interviewed by LBC’s Nick Ferrari. He was expecting me to put the boot in.  No point, his own party are doing that anyway.  And people need hope. 

Mr Johnson became PM two months after I became Mayor. 

We’re ten years ahead of the government target in our devolution deal.  4,586 good quality jobs in the pipeline, all underpinned by our Good Work Pledge. 

Despite the pandemic, we’ve funded more training courses.  Over 25,000, from HGV driving to computer coding, giving our young people a chance to earn a good living.  We’ve built houses with our Brownfield Housing Fund.  And we work directly with communities, funding projects like community food gardens from Hexham to Heaton, and beach wheelchairs in Cullercoats. 

Economic competence is possible.  Compassionate policies are deliverable.  But not if you run government like a Ponzi scheme.  Like Bernie Madoff, Boris Johnson made promises people wanted to believe.  When he couldn’t deliver them, he made more promises, and told more lies. 

With energy prices so high, all this gaslighting must be costing him a fortune. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 13 June 22

Cultural Unity and Common Humanity

Front row of the Tyneside cinema.  Adverts and trailers over.  The curtains pull back wider.  I look left and right, my wife, my sons.  I find I’m gripping the arm rests.  It’s 36 years since the 1986 original.  We feel the need, the need for speed. 

Top Gun: Maverick did not disappoint. 

Now, I’m no film critic; Maverick may not be your cup of tea.  But there’s something about a cinema blockbuster that you just can’t experience at home. 

Your seat rumbles as the fighter jets roar past.  Almost ducking because the big screen fills your vision.  The magic of a shared experience when the audience laugh at the same jokes and gasp at the same stunts. 

Critics have described Top Gun: Maverick as the last stand against streaming.  A film conceived to be watched in cinemas.  The footage of the pilots was filmed inside actual F-18 fighter jets.  No CGI, no green screens.  When Maverick is launched from an aircraft carrier, Tom Cruise’s head jolts forwards in a way that can’t be acted.  The film and the character share the same defining quality: they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.  It’s nostalgia done beautifully. 

Dennis Waterman’s death a couple of weeks ago led to a conversation around the Driscoll dinner table.  In 1984, at a time when the UK population was just over 56 million, over 16 million of us tuned in to watch a single episode of Minder.  That’s more than one in four of the entire population doing exactly the same thing at the same time.  And then talking about it the next day.  The boys were amazed. 

Caroline and I tried to explain to the boys – now 16 and 14 – what watching telly was like in the 80’s.  There were adverts, and you couldn’t fast forward through them.  The whole family watched it in the living room at the same time.  We thought remote controls were flash – before that if you wanted to change the volume, you had to get up and press a button the TV set.  The idea of watching on your phone?  The phone was a big clunky device that lived in the hall and needed its own table.  When you answered it you introduced yourself and possibly recited your number. 

What are our shared experiences in an era of internet shopping, working from home and streaming TV?

Perhaps that’s behind the centrifugal force weakening the UK’s identity.  Scotland may leave.  Northern Ireland may follow.  For the first time since the middle ages, self-determination for England’s regions is on the agenda. 

The English word “patriot” derives from “compatriot” – fellow countryman.  George Orwell contrasted patriotism with nationalism.  “By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force upon other people.”  Nationalism, Orwell said, was about one group subjugating another.   

Patriotism is about making your homeland a better place to live.  Serving in our armed forces to protect us.  Working in our public services, keeping us safe on a double bank holiday weekend.  Volunteering for charities.  Or serving as a local councillor, not for recognition or reward, but from civic duty. 

Our nostalgic, rose-coloured view of Britain ‘pulling together’ overlooks what it feels like to be excluded from the community.  Whether through poverty or bigotry, our government is a past master at that.  Ask any of the Windrush generation.

There’s a map of Britain’s foodbanks trending on social media.  You know the kind of Google Map where a pin represents a location.  The UK is submerged in food banks.  I’m simultaneously proud that Britons are stepping up to help their fellows.  And ashamed that we need to. 

That’s another change since I was my sons’ age.  Despite growing in Teesside in an era of mass unemployment, there were no foodbanks, no homeless people sleeping in subways.   

Some newspapers and politicians stoke culture wars to distract and divide.  Dr Johnson said “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”  He was wrong.  It’s usually the first. 

The challenge we face is to find cultural unity based on our common humanity. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 6 June 22

Like an iceberg, most politics happens below the surface

Politics is like an iceberg.  Nine tenths of it is out of sight, certainly as far as the news goes.  Two stories dominate right now. 

First, it turns out our Prime Minister did break lots of lockdown rules.  What, really?  I’m shocked!    

You’ve already made you mind up as to whether the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a lying criminal without a shred of honour – or an honest upstanding gentleman of impeccable virtue who we’re lucky to have shepherding us through these troubled times.  You might even think he is 100% focused on running the country, and not spending all his time wriggling around like a greased piglet in a desperate attempt to salvage his career.  Nothing I write will change your opinion.

The second story is the windfall tax.  Sorry – the “temporary targeted energy profits levy”.  Heaven forbid that the Chancellor should acknowledge that he’s implementing the exact policy Labour has campaigned for.    

It’s a good policy.  We’re funding their megaprofits through our bills.  The price of energy to wash our clothes and cook our meals has skyrocketed.  The new policy will genuinely help people in dire need.  Well done Mr Sunak. 

But why did it take nearly six months to implement?  Too often in politics point scoring gets in the way of good governance.  If it’s a good policy, do it, regardless of whose idea it was. 

Win-win is a bit of cliché, but it’s true.  It’s how I approach the job of Mayor.  I’m only successful if the people I work with are successful.  In the past fortnight I’ve had over a dozen key meetings with business and political leaders, to land investment in our region. 

A week last Tuesday I was in Leeds for UKREiiF – a large investment conference.  I spoke on a panel with my fellow Metro Mayors, reinforcing each other’s position on getting more investment to the North.  I also spoke to ethical fund managers about financing genuinely affordable housing here. 

I met with Investment Minister Lord Grimstone.  The Offshore Testing facility in Blyth missed out on £30 million of investment in the last spending round.  Unless the UK invests in research and development, industry will invest abroad.  He agreed with me.  What’s good for Blyth is good for Britain.  A win-win. 

Thursday I was in Leeds again.  The public part was a photo-op on a bus.  I find these things a bit cheesy.  But the meeting with my fellow Mayors, Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy was useful.  Labour has been out of power nationally for twelve years.  Our Metro Mayors show that economic competence and compassionate policies can go hand in hand. 

And on that, I met with Gordon Brown and his team on Wednesday.  They’ve been working up Labour’s Constitutional Commission.  It’s not finalised, so forgive me for being vague, but I was genuinely impressed with its scope and depth.  It really does address some of the imbalances in Britain’s economy and decision making.  Who knows when the next election is, but working with a Labour government could turbocharge the work we’re doing in the North of Tyne. 

The North East leads on battery technology, building two new gigafactories, bringing thousands of new jobs.  But government investment in the training facilities has historically gone to the West Midlands.  Last Friday I met with the North East Battery Alliance and BritishVolt, to scope a joint project for training facilities here. 

The Parliamentary Adult Education Bill includes a national register of adult education providers.  Local firms won’t be able to run work-related training courses.  Last Monday I met with Education Secretary last Nadhim Zahawi, asking him to allow Mayoral Combined Authorities to accredit providers.  After all, we already have robust due diligence.  “I can see it would make life easier for you, and for us,” he said.  Again, the win-win. 

I’m meeting him again to discuss school age education – one of the government’s “levelling up” missions.  There’s benefit in allowing our local education teams more control and flexibility.  Greater Manchester are also negotiating additional devolution around this, so Andy Burnham and I are supporting each other.    

You’ll be aware we’re negotiating with government for a bigger Mayoral Combined Authority here in the North East.  For the past three years I’ve been working with the leaders of our local authorities to arrive at a joint “ask”. 

We want new, expanded region to get at least as much funding per capita that we get for the North of Tyne.  It’s already the highest per capita devolution deal, so government are reluctant to scale it up. 

At the moment, capital expenditure for the Tyne & Wear Metro comes from central government – as it should.  We want the Metro this to continue, and not have the Metro eat up the new devolved transport money. 

Last week I met Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and pressed the case on Metro funding.  On Wednesday I met Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, and discussed the total amount of funding we’d need to make any deal acceptable.  I’ll be discussing the details with my fellow local leaders before publishing it here, but suffice to say both ministers see the benefits of a win-win.    

Getting hot and confrontational is the best way to get the headlines.  Getting the job done means staying cool.  So like an iceberg, most politics happens below the surface.  

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 30 May 22

Cutting safety is false economy

Twenty years ago this month was the Potters Bar rail crash.  On the 10th May 2002, a train from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn derailed at 97mph.  The last carriage flipped, hit a bridge, and wedged between the platform and station buildings.  Seven people were killed.  76 people were injured. 

The subsequent inquiry found a set of points had separated when the train passed over them.  The bolts had come loose.  Yet the records showed the points had been fully inspected just nine days earlier by Jarvis PLC, the private railway maintenance contractor.  Jarvis claimed the points must have been sabotaged. 

The investigators found no evidence of sabotage.  They did find the other points in the area had similar maintenance deficiencies, which “arose from a failure to fully understand the design and safety requirements.”  In short, private maintenance firms were paying too little attention to training and safety.  Jarvis concocted a cock-and-bull story to cover their backs.  They were eventually prosecuted in 2010. 

Two years before Potters Bar was the Hatfield rail crash.  One of the rails had metal fatigue – a series of small cracks that weaken the metal.  On the fateful day of 17th October 2000, the rail finally fractured.  A GNER train travelling from King’s Cross to Leeds derailed at 115mph.  The restaurant car separated from the rest of the train and collided with a gantry.  Four people were killed, more than 70 were injured. 

Private contractors Balfour Beatty were responsible for maintaining the track.  On 13th Nov 1999 – 11 months before the crash – Railtrack’s Head of Track wrote to the Head of Safety and Risk Management:

“The balance between commercial drivers and safety are currently overwhelmingly towards the commercial. The culture in the Company is currently such that Zone Track Engineers are in fear of losing their jobs if they do not accept non-compliance.”

Four days before the crash he wrote, “the significant increase in broken rail numbers and growth in traffic is increasing the risk of derailment”

People knew this would happen.  Senior management were warned this would happen, but they quite literally put profit before safety.  In both cases, the private contractors eventually admitted their guilt, and paid £millions in fines and out-of-court settlements. 

In Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club (and the film) the narrator describes “the Formula”. 

“A new car built by my company leaves somewhere travelling at 60mph.  The rear differential locks up.  The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside.  Now, should we initiate a recall?  Take the number of vehicles in the field, A.  Multiply it by the probably rate of failure, B.  The multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, C.  A time B times C = X.  If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don’t do one.”

Free market capitalism at its purest. 

In October 2002 Network Rail took over safety responsibility for rail infrastructure – track, points, signalling.  For over a decade, Britain’s railways had the best safety record in Europe.  But from 2019, government demanded that £3.5 billion be cut over the next five years. 

Network Rail plans to cut the wage bill by £100 million a year.  That’s 2,660 rail maintenance jobs.  Analysis from the RMT union shows that equals 670,000 fewer maintenance hours – a 34% reduction.  Analysis by the TUC shows that bringing all the outsourced services back in house would save £115 million a year.  But for some reason, this option is not being taken. 

The RMT are currently balloting their 40,000 rail members on taking industrial action.  This covers Network Rail and 15 train operating companies.  The other rail unions, ASLEF, TSSA, and Unite, are also in dispute. They are all campaigning to defend rail jobs, pay and conditions.  And to keep rail safe and reliable. 

Lethal crashes make the headlines.  But we typically experience poor rail maintenance as delays and cancellations.  Twice last week I had to go to Leeds.  In two return trips I experienced two trains cancelled, and two delayed because of signalling faults.  Cutting safety is a false economy.  The true cost of all those delays to passengers and freight will be huge.  We can’t run Britain as a pound-shop country. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 23 May 22

Supporting people to be the best they can be

The young man pointed to the side of his face where surgeons had inserted the metal plate. When asked if the police caught his attackers, he shrugged. No. “They were all wearing balaclavas”, he told me, flatly.

Matthew, 16, was one of 70 budding young chefs from local colleges competing at this year’s North East Culinary and Trade Association (NECTA) awards in Gosforth’s Grand Hotel. He had almost dropped out, after his assault. “Cooking helped me cope”, he said. “After a few depressing weeks, I jumped back into it. Right after surgery, I went straight back to college and started cooking [again].”

Douglas Jordan is a chef with decades of experience in top restaurants.  He’s the driving force behind NECTA.   “Would you come along and say some encouraging words, Jamie?” he asked me.  “Being recognised for their skills means so much to these young people.” 

The competition boosts the profile and quality of the North East’s hospitality trade. In a cavernous room bordered with banners promoting pizza ovens and kitchen equipment, Matthew and the next generation of Masterchefs and Michelin Star winners worked with Zen-like focus in makeshift kitchens.  Above them, extractor fans roared.  Around them, teachers, families, and friends watched the teenage cooks competed in their chosen category.  Cold starters, hot desserts, sugarcraft, cocktail making. Judges prowled, watchful. “It’s quieter than a Glaswegian funeral!”, exclaimed the announcer, in a heavy Scottish accent.

“Cooking is my passion”, said Jasmine, 19, from Newcastle College. She started four years ago and now gains experience – and wages – in a professional kitchen.  She’s calm, softly spoken, confident. “You’ve got to put a lot of work in to make your name”, she told me. Later, her chocolate orange fondant, flambéed with orange liquor won second place in the Hot Dessert category.

As the day went on, the medals, trophies, and awards mounted up on college tables and around necks. Rewards reaped from years of investment. Investment by, and into, these young people. Thousands of hours of graft spent in classrooms and hot kitchens. Carving out a future. Chasing a dream.

Clearly, the competition is about so much more than just who can make the best venison terrine or decorate a cake. “Getting students involved gives them a lot of confidence and broadens their horizons”, remarked Michael Dodds, Chef Lecturer at Newcastle College, and mentor to many of the day’s winners. “It’s massively beneficial for them.”

I left school at sixteen, the same age as many of the young chefs in that room. In the depths of the Thatcher recession, good jobs were scarce.  Now, as the elected Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, my primary purpose is to create jobs. Good jobs.

And creating jobs is exactly what we’re doing. Over 4,500 and counting – backed by our Good Work Pledge, which means fair pay, workers are listened to and looked after, and get the chance of training and progression.  Jobs for people like Jasmine, and Matthew – who would later win joint silver for his fish preparation skills, fastidiously filleting and presenting the cuts for the judges to scrutinise.  Who pushed himself to compete in a packed room, despite his horrific ordeal leaving him feeling anxious in crowds.  Whose resilience, grit, and dedication will be invaluable to any employer.

Walking around that hall, the camaraderie between the students was palpable.  The tension of the competition visceral.  Everywhere I looked I could see investment. A teenager who’d dedicated hundreds of hours into perfecting her craft. A teacher who’d spent years mentoring his students. Recruiters – from local companies such as the Inn Collection to national organisations like The Royal Navy – looking to invest in these young people’s futures. The event organisers putting their time and money into giving the next generation a platform, investing in their own replacements.

Phrases like “helping them reach their full potential” are so overused they’ve become clichés. But that doesn’t mean there’s no value in them. Everything in that room that day was about exactly that: supporting people to be the best they can. When asked what inspired him, Matthew replied “I try to make myself the inspiration”. And by the end of that day, he’d done exactly that.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 16 May 22

We need a vision of a better future

It’s traditional on election night for politicians to spin the results. 

“Our retention of Dunny-on-the-Wold, albeit with a reduced majority, shows that everyone thinks we’re doing a fantastic job and we’ll win the next election!” says one politician.  “But,” replies his opponent, “you’ve lost two seats in Birmingham Nicepart, which shows we’ll win the next election and the one after that!”  I can see why parties send people out to big-up their results, but I’m not sure we learn anything useful. 

So it was refreshing to see several outgoing Tory council leaders blame their losses on the swamp of sleaze their party leader is dragging them through.  Politics is crying out for more honesty.

Congratulations to every councillor who won, whatever your party.  Being a councillor is hard work and underappreciated.  Commiserations to all those who lost.  Thank you for standing – putting yourself forward takes courage.  Without contested elections, there would be no democracy. 

In case you’ve missed it, Labour did solidly in Tyne & Wear.  Press reports that Labour was in danger of losing Sunderland proved to be hype.  Sunderland’s Labour council have done some sterling work – and should be rightly proud of being a Real Living Wage employer.  That extra £40 a week in low paid workers’ pockets is vital.  And reducing poverty saves our public services money in the long run. 

Labour remains solidly in control of South Tyneside, even with some new Greens elected.  No net change in North Tyneside.  Newcastle and Gateshead haven’t elected a Conservative for 30 years.  These are strong results, considering a decade of budget cuts from central government.  Councils are strong-armed into putting up council tax or else cut core functions like children’s services to dangerous levels.    

Trying to predict the next General Election from Thursday’s results is like predicting next year’s weather.  Yet the commentary is surprisingly uniform.  Journalists across the political specturm all have a similar take.  Labour is largely where it was in 2018, and Mr Johnson has gone from electoral asset to electoral millstone. 

One reason Labour hasn’t surged nationally is that Britain’s political discourse is mired in reality TV politics.  Wallpapergate, Partygate, Tractor-porn-gate.  I’m waiting for a scandal to emerge about a large external door in Parliament, then we can have Gategate. 

These are serious matters.  The PM lying to Parliament would be a resigning matter if there was any honour involved.  But it’s detracting from running the country.  Labour proposed a Windfall tax to help with energy bills.  But how much serious analysis has it had in the news?  We rarely get more than a soundbite.  That cascades into conversations at dinner tables and pubs, where people are better informed about the PM’s birthday cake than his economic policies.  

In my election acceptance speech three years ago, I spoke about chaos.  The chaos of a private rented sector where people can be kicked out of their home at a month’s notice.  The chaotic housing market where our young people can’t afford to live where they grew up.  The chaotic transport system where passengers don’t know if the bus will turn up.  The chaos small business owners face, who don’t know if corporations will pay their bills.  The chaotic funding system for our charities and voluntary sector who don’t know what income they will have from year to year.  The chaos working people face, living from week to week, not knowing if they can pay their bills while their debts mount. 

Some people say the Johnson government is chaotic and incompetent.  But if their objective is making the rich richer, they are extremely competent.  Chaos works in Mr Johnson’s favour.  Perhaps Sir Keir should label him Captain Chaos. 

To cut through requires a plan to deal with the root cause of the chaos: a dog-eat-dog ideology and an economic system that that prioritises the interests of the ultra-rich at the expense of the working people who produce the wealth. 

People want to be shown there’s a way out.  In a world of galloping poverty, climate breakdown, and global instability, they want some hope.  So yes, call out corrupt politicians.  But more importantly, we need a vision of a better future. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 9 May 22

Who do we want to run the country?

Door knocking at election time brings many benefits. Gentle exercise, catching some sunshine, and of course, talking with the public.

An unexpected benefit is seeing the vast diversity of front gardens.  From manicured lawns and colourful tulips, to weeds and piles of rubble. I’ve concluded, in a totally unscientific way, that there’s a correlation between how neat someone’s garden is, and how likely they are to vote.

Political parties can get a copy of the electoral register, marked with whether people voted in each election. How they voted is secret, of course. But from talking to people, there is no correlation between how tidy someone’s garden is and who they say they’ll vote for.

People do curious things for status. One person told me that since her husband was now a high earner, she was thinking of switching from Labour to Conservative. Status, like fashion, is about emulating people you want to be associated with.

“Do you really see yourself being like Boris Johnson and the Conservatives?” I asked. I left unspoken the record of tax dodging, law breaking and contracts for their mates. She didn’t. Like me, she wanted people in charge who’d create a safe place for her kids to grow up. This was just before Tory MP Neil Parish was caught watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.

I’ve said before that I don’t believe all Labour politicians are saints, and all Tories are sinners. We all know that any group can have a rogue member. What angers people is the covering up and closing ranks.

It’s a pattern of behaviour. Tory Whips did nothing about Neil Parish for days after it was reported.  Priti Patel’s bullying. Boris Johnson’s law breaking. Not one, but two Tory Chancellors – Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak – have benefited from non-dom tax avoidance. They seem to base their moral response on whether they’re getting bad headlines. This is low status. Any truly upstanding citizen would condemn it.

One Tory voter told me that although sleaze was a problem, Mr Johnson had led the country well through the pandemic. I didn’t ask which newspaper she reads.

I mentioned that I was North of Tyne Mayor, and had many meetings with government ministers. That we didn’t know what government policy was from one day to the next. Like in January last year, when the PM said on Sunday morning that schools would definitely stay open. And on the Monday, he closed them. That he missed five COBRA meetings in a row because he was writing a book about Shakespeare, because he needed the money. And said he’d rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than have another lockdown. And then had another lockdown anyway, but only after the bodies had piled high in their thousands.

She remembered all those events. By chance, she had just picked up her postal vote off the doormat, and had it in her hand. “You’ve convinced me,” she said. “I’ll fill it now.”

“But the council haven’t cut the grass,” or equivalent statement crops up a lot. Local councils get blamed for underfunded services. The PM keeps repeating untrue statements at Prime Ministers Questions. Even if a known liar says something, people of good faith still think it might be true. So let’s check the facts. 

In the last decade, the Conservative government has taken £413 per person per year from councils in the North of England.  So says IPPR’s State of the North report.  £413 cuts a lot of grass. 

FullFact.org shows that average council tax per household is £1,256 for Labour run councils, £1,592 for Conservatives, and £1,700 for Lib Dems.

The most typical response in a doorstep conversation is “I don’t know which way I’ll vote.” Politics, at its heart, should be about a social contract. What do we expect of our citizens, and what do we want our government to prioritise? Instead, British politics has sunk into a grotesque reality TV show.

Only 1 in 3 people vote in local elections. Do we want a country run by someone whose only interest – and only skill – is self-preservation? If you want better politics, and better politicians, please vote on Thursday.

* Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 2 May 22

Dignity is the least anyone should expect

Would you like to take a road trip to Rwanda? In a Mercedes? With a single refugee as your passenger? Staying in five-star hotels along the way?  Sound expensive? Well it won’t cost as much as the Government’s new scheme to house refugees in vast camps 4,000 miles away from Britain. 

Announced with great fanfare as ‘the solution’ to global migration it’ll more than likely prove unworkable. Cruelty is expensive.  As well as being immoral and unjust.

The Government has no idea how much it will cost. In a remarkable twist, Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office’s most senior civil servant, publicly wrote to Home Secretary Priti Patel saying he couldn’t sign off the policy as value for money. Examples from around the world support his concern.

Australia spends about £2 million a year per refugee held on the island of Nauru in the Pacific.  Even if the Rwandan version turns out to be a tenth of the price that’s still £200,000 per refugee per year.

Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have made much of the £4.7 million a day hotel bill for asylum seekers.  But that works out at about £130 per day per refugee or about £47,000 per year.  Obviously accommodation isn’t the only cost but that looks like good value compared to the Rwanda plan.

Yet the money shouldn’t be our biggest concern. Morality should.  Rwanda is already home to 150,000 refugees living in huge camps.  The welfare of those that Ms Patel would ship off to East Africa is cause for concern. It has now emerged that the Rwandan authorities plan to evict survivors of the Rwandan genocide from their accommodation to make way for the arrivals from Britain.  

The starting point is all wrong. If I was caught up in a civil war I would’ve tried to get out with my wife and children. I’m sure most people reading this would too. And if that’s our starting point then our asylum and immigration system would be very different. 

Ukraine shows us how different it could be. Ukrainian refugees, at least in theory, get to be treated as human beings, deserving of help and support. The British public have responded with generosity – more than 100,000 people have registered for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.  But only 12,000 Ukrainians have reached the UK so far, a fraction of the 240,000 welcomed by Germany or the 2.5 million taken in by Poland.

You could blame bureaucracy, as Priti Patel appeared to recently.  Which is odd, since she’s in charge of that bureaucracy.  But I think the real cause is a political culture that sees refugees as a problem to be dealt with rather than as people to be helped. If you spend years demonising your fellow human beings don’t be surprised when your institutions fail to respond quickly when you decide to help a few of them.

Many of the intentions for Ukrainian refugees are good. The Homes for Ukraine scheme gives refugees the right to work, something refugees from other countries are often denied.  Every refugee or asylum speaker I’ve met wants to work, and wants to contribute.  If we were to lift the ban on employment for all asylum seekers we’d save money and give people back their dignity.

Dignity is the least anyone should expect. That’s why the North of Tyne Combined Authority has supported the Action Foundation, a local charity in Newcastle. We’re helping refugees and asylum seekers learn digital skills, get online, keep in touch with loved ones, and find work. It’s making a real difference to people’s lives, giving them a chance to flourish in their new country and put down roots here.

The country you came from shouldn’t determine whether you get to stay here or not. It’s a bit odd that if you come from Ukraine you could end up living with Grant Shapps but if you’re from Iran a tent in Rwanda is your more likely destination.

*Originally printed in The Journal and Evening Chronicle 25 April 22

Football changing lives for years to come

When I first walked into the North of Tyne Combined Authority in May 2019, it comprised a handful of staff and a cavernous office on Cobalt Business Park.  I had a manifesto full of promises to deliver, and a small team raring to get cracking. 

One of my first meetings was with the Newcastle United Foundation, the charitable arm of Newcastle United (other football teams are available).  We met at the disused and derelict Murray House Recreation and Community Centre, a stone’s throw from St James’ Park. 

Murray House was built in the 1930s to provide leisure and training opportunities for the men and boys laid off from the shipyards. Rebuilt in the 1970s, footballing legends like Shola Ameobi and hundreds of other youngsters trained there. Then it closed in 2017.

The Newcastle United Foundation, which included Karren Brady and Sarah Medcalf had big ideas for it.  They wanted to rebuild Murray House as NUCASTLE, a modern sports facility, with a suite of classrooms championing excellence in education, employment and physical and mental wellbeing. They showed me the architects’ drawings.  They had big plans. Which were going to cost big money.  Almost £8 million. 

I asked whether they had any financial backing agreed?  Er…no.  Would I mind being first?  So NTCA stepped in.  This was the first major investment I signed off as Mayor.  £2.6 million, nearly a third of the total cost.  With our anchor funding in place, they persuaded other investors the project was viable. 

But then, having signed it off, you wait.  I signed off, with my cabinet, a host of other projects.  Offshore wind investment, our culture & creative programme.  A slew of job creation programmes. 

Fast forward, through the Prorogation of Parliament, the December 2019 General Election, and we’re into the Pandemic. I’d landed our fist big investment creating nearly 1000 jobs, but even they hadn’t recruited the people yet. 

The teams at the Combined Authority are working their socks off, but Covid means doing everything from home while we all get used to Zoom. 

Everything is still new. Everything is still a ‘work in progress’. And we’re in that no-man’s-land that all new organisations have, where nothing has quite come to fruition yet.

Fast forward again to May 2021, and I get an invitation to ‘sign the steel’ at the NUCASTLE site. 

It started to feel real.  Something tangible at last for all of the time, effort, and investment expended by my team.

NUCASTLE ‘s work goes way beyond football, sacred though that is in the Toon. And it began way before the site was completed.

At the steel signing, I met a young woman called Katie, and listened to her story.  Hers wasn’t an unusual one. To begin with.  She’d left school and was unemployed. Her confidence was rock bottom.  No job.  No self-belief. Then she met NUCASTLE, and did a course funded by them. 

By the time I met her, she had a job. She had confidence. She believed she had a future.  She was thinking of going to university.  All made possible by NUCASTLE, with a little help from their friends at the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

Fast forward again, to last week, and the opening of the state-of-the art hub on Diana Street, a stone’s throw from St James’s Park. 

Not only does the hub have rooftop pitches, it also has robot footballs that can be programmed by the people who are using them. Kids might be lured in by the footie, but they’ll stay to learn other skills.  Programming the robot footballs increases interest in coding and other tech skills.

It’s about outreach work and helping people get their careers on track. It covers the communities across our region – and it doesn’t matter whether you support Berwick Rangers or Blyth Spartans.

So, if you’re looking to your future, you don’t have to do it alone. There are people who want to help you.  The Foundation helped over 26,000 people last year. You can contact NUCASTLE and see what they’ve got to offer at www.nufoundation.org.uk

In partnership with organisations like NUCASTLE, the Combined Authority is proud to help expand people’s horizons.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 4 April 22

The Curious Incident of the Spring Statement

“Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” asked Inspector Gregory of Scotland Yard.

“To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” replied Sherlock Holmes. 

The Chancellor’s Spring Statement contained five notable omissions. 

Firstly, he opened by blaming the cost of living crisis on the invasion of Ukraine.  But omitted to say wholesale energy prices had spiked before Christmas.  Mr Sunak is not to blame for the rise in global energy prices.  But his Government has stood by and watched companies rake in profits by the £10s of billions.   And they have form in keeping us hooked on fossil fuels.  A decade of on-off investment in renewables, dodgy ties with even dodgier oligarchs, and a keystone-cops approach to insulating homes has left Britain’s vulnerable, vulnerable. Food prices are up, too.  Durum wheat, which makes pasta, has shot up 90% as a result of freak heatwaves and failed harvests in Canada. 

Which takes us to the second omission, the curious absence of COP.  Back in November, decarbonising was our no 1 priority.  Today’s announcement that VAT on home insulation materials would be reduced from 5% to 0% is weak by any standards.  Where is the retrofit programme?  David Cameron’s 2013 decision to “cut the green crap” saw domestic insulation retrofits plummet from 1.5 million homes per year to near zero.  Insulating buildings will reduce bills, NHS admissions, and create jobs. 

It’s so financially viable that my Combined Authority has launched a Green New Deal fund where we make capital available on a commercial basis and consumers pay for it with energy savings.  Britain is crying out for a national version of this. 

Then there’s the curious omission of levelling up.  For the PM’s flagship policy and favourite catchphrase to be missing is curious indeed.  Mr Sunak might claim that equalising the NICs threshold with income tax is a form of levelling up.  Equalising the rates is obviously sensible.  But the numbers don’t lie.  The 1.25% NICs increase will still happen, and raise £14 billion.  This equalisation will cost £6bn.  So he’s taking a net £8bn increase in taxes from employment.  While incomes from rent, dividends and capital gains all remain lower than working for a living. 

He was almost honest, though, in saying why.   He has a plan, he said, to bribe us with our own money in 2024, cutting income tax from 20p to 19p.  So that’s nice. 

The fourth omission is a lack of any stimulus.  He acknowledged that Britain’s R&D has been poor since the financial crash, along with the weakest OECD private sector investment.  A frank mea culpa, given his party has been in power for 12 years.  Add in the loss of disposable income from household bills rising £1700 a year, and we’re flirting with recession. 

So where is the solution?  There was talk of tinkering with tax credits.  But why not turbocharge offshore investment?  At £40 per MWh, offshore electricity is a fifth of the price of gas.  Cheap clean energy would make Britain an industrial powerhouse.  And let’s change the local content rules so the turbines get manufactured here, in Britain. 

Mr Sunak’s fifth and final omission was his failure to make eye contact, shake hands or even acknowledge the presence of the Prime Minister sitting next to him.  No levelling up.  No climate action.  No plans to fix anything, in fact.  It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to rescue an unpopular PM.    

“The Chancellor did nothing in the spring time,” said the detective.  “That was the curious incident.” 

If we want a better future, we must invest in people

If there was a fire in your kitchen, you’d put it out.  Immediately.  Or call the fire brigade.  You wouldn’t say, “We don’t have the resources to fix this right now,” close the door, and pretend the problem will go away. 

Yet this mindset gets wheeled-out to justify inaction over social challenges.  Small issues are left to fester until they become huge problems – all in the name of saving a few quid. We’re told youth centres that steer young people away from crime are too expensive.  But the money’s there to pay for young people in prison.  We’re told helping isolated older residents stay independent is unaffordable.  But we foot a bigger bill when they end up in A&E.   We hear “savings must be found” from mentoring programmes for struggling parents.  But we pay a lot more when a child ends up in care.

Our community services are victims of this ideological delusion.  It’s been going on for over a decade.  Ever since bankers’ bonuses won out above children’s’ centres.  The saddest thing is if we just did the compassionate thing, it would save us a fortune down the line. 

Last year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reviewed the Sure Start scheme.  They found it prevented over 13,000 hospitalisations of 11 to 15 year olds every year.  These are kids who finished Sure Start at least 5 years earlier, but the benefits stayed with them.  They had healthier immune systems and more robust mental health.  Savings from this alone would pay for a third of the whole Sure Start scheme.  Yet over 1,300 Sure Start centres were closed between 2010 and 2019. 

The link between youth service funding and knife crime is almost mechanical – when one goes down, the other goes up.  Young people face a greater risk of violence in places where there’s less support for them.  Since 2012 budget cuts have forced the closure of 760 youth centres across England.  David Cameron decided we’d have a Big Society instead. 

Community centres are not ‘nice to haves’.  They are lifelines.  We don’t need shiny new buildings.  We need core funding for long term stability.  Community hubs thrive on a network of long term relationships.  These can’t thrive if the funding is under review every 12 months.

That’s why the North of Tyne Community Hubs policy prioritised strengthening networks where they already exist.  We’ve invested £1.5 million into community-led work across Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland – delivering a promise I made in my election manifesto.  A couple of weeks ago I visited the Children and Families Newcastle Hub in Benwell to see how the magic happens. 

It’s based in the Carnegie Building, a grand old library on Atkinson Road.  At a buzzing ‘stay and play’ session, surrounded by toddlers, local families told me how the centre had supported them during difficult lockdown months. Mary, a former midwife, said the hub had boosted the confidence of her 18-month-old granddaughter.  Covid meant she hadn’t played with many other toddlers. 

The NHS child health clinic runs in the next room, increasing participation rates.  Upstairs people are practising on first aid dummies, and getting qualified for work.  Another room hosts a training course for people learning to work in the security industry.  An employment coaching agency runs from another room.  As does Sidestep, a charity that undertakes patient – and successful – long-term work with young people vulnerable to exploitation. 

I was mid-thirties when my eldest was born.  My wife and I both had good careers, good health, financial stability, and a supportive network of friends and family.  And it was still exhausting.  I heard the story of a young woman who’d struggled parenting her first child.  She couldn’t cope, and her little one was taken into care.  She spoke to people at the centre.  She built mutual trust with the staff, and engaged with the groups.  She opened up to other mothers who’d struggled and came to realise she wasn’t alone.  She’s gone on to raise two more kids, one of whom is now studying at Oxford University. 

If we want a better future, we must invest in people.  Not close the door on them, and wait for the fire to spread. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 21 March 2022

Who should we value in our society?

Who should we value in our society?  The Key workers who kept our communities going throughout the pandemic, or the Russian oligarchs whose dirty money sloshes around the City of London? The health service workers who risked their lives to look after our loved ones, or the PM’s political cronies?

“Sir Gavin Williamson.”  If you don’t remember him, I’ll remind you.  Sacked as Defence Secretary by Theresa May for leaking about Huwei and the UK’s 5G network.  He denies it.  Then sacked by Mr Johnson in September last year, as Education Secretary this time.  Remember 2020 A-levels fiasco?  The dodgy algorithm that marked down kids from disadvantaged areas?  That was Mr Williamson, now Sir Gavin.  It brings to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 

The PM didn’t even attempt to justify Sir Gavin’s knighthood.  When he was Tory Chief Whip, he kept a tarantula in his office.  More than one Conservative politician I’ve worked with has described him in terms that are unprintable in a respectable newspaper.  So why knight him?  Maybe it was services to Boris Johnson’s Tory leadership campaign.  Either that or “Services to ineptitude.” 

The Government now talks tough on Russia.  But the cosying up to Kremlin-backed oligarchs has earned Britain’s capital city the nickname Londongrad. Transparency International estimates that Kremlin-connected dirty money has snaffled up £1.5 billion worth of luxury property.  London property has provided fertile ground to bury suspicious wealth for years. 

It’s not the only indulgence.  Since 2008, 12,000 of the global super rich have purchased indefinite UK residency via the “golden visa” scheme.  It’s described as a gold-plated invitation to launder money.  A £2m “investment” buys residency within five years.  £10m shortens it to two years.  The “investment” can be buying property.  And later selling it.  Through shell companies.  Compare and contrast with the Home Office’s abysmal visa performance for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.  

I’m not a fan of the honours system.  At least not for leading politicians and wealthy businesspeople.  These jobs come with enough prestige or money.  Sometimes both.  What about the charity volunteers?  What about those who really keep the country running, but go unnoticed, and barely rewarded?  Bus and train drivers, refuse workers, environmental health inspectors, social care workers, NHS staff, classroom assistants and teachers.  All in the front line through the pandemic. 

Austerity meant a lost decade for pay.  Council care workers in 2021 are down more than £1,600 a year in real terms compared to 2010.  Their latest pay offer is 1.75%, while inflation surges to 8%.  Nurses’ real wages are down more than £2,700 a year since 2010, but are getting just 3%.  Yet billionaires got 54% richer through the pandemic. 

I’m sure you’re all too aware that household energy bills are rocketing by an average of £700 next month, and a further £1000 in the Autumn.  But it’s not costing any more to pump it out of the ground.  Prices are rising by 54%, but workers in those industries are not getting a 54% pay rise.  Someone, somewhere is making an absolute fortune out of this.  I’ll bet dimes to dollars it’s billionaires. 

The Spring Statement is next week, 23rd March.  We’ll see whose side the Chancellor is on.  Will he watch millions of Britons slide into poverty?  Choosing between heating and eating, trapping people in a cycle of debt?

Or will he cancel the National Insurance rises – taxes on working people?  Restore the £20 a week Universal Credit taken away from 6 million families last October, 66,000 in North of Tyne.  Will he uprate benefits for families and people with disabilities in line with inflation?  Do anything about the 2.5 million people so desperate they used food banks last year? 

I hope I’m wrong, but my guess Mr Sunak will say Britain can’t afford it.  I disagree.  A wealth tax on Britain’s richest 1% would raise £70bn to £130bn per year.  Anyone with net assets over £3.4 million would pay 1% of their wealth, each year.  So if your house, shares, savings, all add up to £4 million, you pay £6000 a year.  Sounds fair to me. 

What Britain can’t afford is the rich getting richer while poverty crushes our people.

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 14 March 2022

Where has all the money gone?

I spoke to a young mother, while canvassing in Ferryhill.  She works two part-time, minimum-wage jobs, in Chester-le-Street.  There’s one unreliable bus an hour, and it costs her £19.80 for transport and childcare.

She leaves the house at 8am to drop her daughter off, and she gets home at 4pm. 

It’s taking her 8 hours to earn less than £17.00 net wages.

And she can’t see where it ends.  She said, “People say ‘you’ve got to learn to manage your money’ – but I’m on top of every penny.”

She’s working all hours to build a better life for her little girl.  But she’s worried she’ll be in the same position in 20 years’ time.  She can’t see a way out of it.

In the 70s and early 80s, we had park keepers.  We had youth clubs.  We had bus conductors, who helped with your pram, or your shopping.

My Mam worked part-time as a telephonist.  My Dad was a shift worker at ICI.  With four kids, they could still afford to buy a house when they were young. 

I left school at 16, and worked in a factory.  If you wanted new materials, you filled out an order.  Someone in the typing pool (remember them?) typed a letter, put it in an envelope, and posted it to the supplier.  These days, you just scan a code.

Productivity has leapt forwards with computers and the internet.   Every job is way more efficient now.  We even scan our own shopping.  It must be saving shedloads of money.

So where has all that money gone?  Why can’t we afford park keepers and youth workers and bus conductors?

Why are working people queuing up at food banks?

Because tax dodgers and oligarchs are asset-stripping our country. 

Before Christmas, Storm Arwen left 5000 North East homes with no electricity for a fortnight. 

Northern Powergrid makes £125 million profit a year, on a turnover of £355 million. It’s privately owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, previously known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, run by Warren Buffet, who has a personal fortune of $102 billion. 

Over £100 million a year we lose from our region, which could have been reinvested in it.

It’s the same in the NHS. And probation. And PFI.

Outsourcing and privatisation isn’t about efficiency, and never was.  It’s about the mega-rich taking our money, leaving people working two jobs, unable to make ends meet.   

I know there’s a better system than this.

The Tories have been in power since 2010.  And their austerity has smashed the UK’s resilience. 

COVID hit so hard because of underfunded emergency planning and preparedness.  Fire and Police budgets slashed.  Ambulance services on their knees.  Local authority capabilities destroyed.

And it’s not just about economic injustice.  732 sub-postmasters wrongfully prosecuted.  The Government spending £1.6 million on lawyers to oppose the victims.  No-one held accountable. 

97 unlawful deaths at Hillsborough – 30 years to get to the truth. No-one held accountable. 

Thousands of families bereaved through Covid, while No10 partied – and an inquiry kicked into the long grass. 

What needs levelling-up is the scales of justice. 

Britain needs a Labour government delivering long-term investment in the health and education of our people.  And guiding Britain through a world more dangerous than I can ever remember. 

World leaders have not stepped up to the challenge of climate change.  Fossil fuel companies make £billions in profits.  Tory donors are granted oil and gas exploration licenses in the middle of a climate emergency. 

The sovereign nation of Ukraine has been invaded.  Hospitals and nursery schools bombed.  Nuclear power plants shelled.  While Vladimir Putin imprisons children who protest for peace in Russia.  He must face war crimes court, as all war mongers must.  High office and powerful friends should offer no immunity. For anyone.

I want to see a Labour Government with the guts to stand up to billionaire oligarchs, whose financial greed and bullying fuels war and poverty, and destroys our planet.  

We must hold our course for economic and social and climate justice.  And not sink to throwing red meat to appease those who play from the handbook of hate.

What will be the future if we trade justice for a tabloid headline? 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 7 March 2022

Creating Jobs – Good Jobs – is a Virtuous Circle

I’m always banging on about how many jobs the North of Tyne has created.  Having a good job that you enjoy is life changing.  It’s not just good for the local economy, it’s good for your self-esteem and confidence.  There are no down sides of creating good jobs.  I see it as the cornerstone of my role as Mayor.  Every job we create is backed by our Good Work Pledge – meaning fair pay, workers are listened to and looked after, and get the chance of training and progression. 

If you believe their corporate websites, every oil company on the planet has already solved climate change, and protected some fluffy cute animals into the bargain.  Once you decode the technical language, the claims ring hollow.  Jobswash is a bit like Greenwash.  “This new Government policy will create three squllion new jobs”. 

Our figures are much more tightly controlled.  Because we have to report on our progress to Treasury, we have strict criteria for what counts as a “job”.  It has to be full-time, it must be held for over a year, and it must be the direct result of our cash investment.  So if we bring a new firm here, and they hire construction workers to fit out their new offices, we don’t count those jobs, important though they are.  If a new start-up buys its materials from a local supplier, we don’t count those indirect jobs.  When the workers in the new, direct jobs we create spend money in local shops and restaurants, boosting employment, we don’t count those indirect jobs either.  Just direct jobs.  

So how do we go about it?  We work in big sectors like digital and offshore wind.  We help firms with recruitment and finding premises, and digital infrsatructure.  That’s how we’ve attracted big digital technology companies here. In some cases setting up their UK headquarters here instead of London.  Firms like Verisure, Xplor, Monstarlab, Version 1 and Thoughtworks.  All paying good wages.  And we’re developing a new cluster around healthy ageing

It’s not all about working with big businesses.  We work with medium sized businesses.  Often you’ll find businesses hit a barrier to their growth. Maybe they would overcome it in 2 or 3 years or maybe they wouldn’t.  We help with those barriers through our Growth Funds so they start employing people now.

We’ve invested into Battleship Wharf in Blyth and clearing the Swan Hunter site to make more space for the growing offshore industry.  Our TIGGOR programme invests directly in research and development, so local firms can compete with the globals, and develop new products that get manufactured here.  (Great name, eh? TIGGOR – Technology, Innovation and Green Growth for Offshore Renewables.)  Local firms have grown, employed more people, and are exporting offshore wind components across the world.     

Then there is our incredibly important hinterland of small businesses.  We’ve helped over 1700 with advice and support, and over 100 with direct investment.  We helped local cycling firm Saddle Skedaddle develop an internet savvy customer journey, so they can increase their sales of eco-holidays, and employ more staff.   We’ve helped local joinery firm Damian Cronin digitise their production.  They’ve now employed more joiners and apprentices, and are exporting to Japan.  All the new jobs in these small firms add up.  This is investment in the real economy – in firms that pay their taxes and pay their workers properly.

We’re directly investing in rural areas with our Rural Growth fund.  Our Culture and Creative fund provides equity and soft loans to freelancers and small firms in the arts, culture and creative sector.  Helping them get online and boost their business and grow. 

Add all this together and we have a pipeline of 4,487 direct jobs.  Our emergency £5 million investment and other funds have safeguarded another 2,700 jobs that could have been lost through the pandemic.  The North of Tyne doesn’t count indirect jobs, but the extra money in our region is creating them too. 

All the evidence shows that more money in working people’s pockets leads to better health, better educational outcomes for kids, and less pressure on our underfunded public services.  Creating  jobs – good jobs – is a virtuous circle. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 28 Feb 2022

When one person becomes more skilled, more educated, the whole of society benefits

You’ll have heard of fitness bootcamps, where, in exchange for an hour or two of torture, you shed a couple of pounds. But what about a skills bootcamp?  No sweat or tears involved, and instead of losing weight, you gain skills.  Employable skills to help you find work or a better paid job.  We’ve put £322k in to our first round of bootcamps.  We’re training up people for rail engineering, logistics and digital technology. 

Skills and education are drivers of economic prosperity.  Along with good physical and mental health, they create a virtuous circle.  People with money left over at the end of the month are more resilient.  Over time, they are healthier.  And kids from households with higher incomes go on to higher educational attainment.  But too many people are not in this loop – caught instead in the vicious circle of long hours, low pay, mounting debt, and increasing stress. 

We’re building an economy based on good work, with a foundation of well paid and secure green jobs.  We know everyone needs to benefit.  That’s why we’ve got a strategic skills plan in place.  No one should be stuck in unemployment or a dead-end job with blunted life opportunities. 

The North of Tyne has a devolved Adult Education Budget of £24 million a year.  In our first year we got 28,800 people enrolled in formal training courses – 70% of whom were previously unemployed. 

Because we control the fund, we have flexibility.  When central government controlled it, there was a hit-and-miss approach to what worked.  We’ve increased enrolments by over 10% on the same budget – not bad during a pandemic when buildings were closed for months at a time. 

Learning new skills can be daunting for people – especially older workers.  So we provide wrap-around support to boost new learners’ confidence.  We’re funding programmes close to the people who need support.  Catering and food hygiene training with the Cedarwood Trust in North Shields.   Language and IT skills with Action Foundation in Newcastle, who support refugees.  And Forward Assist in Dudley are helping armed forces veterans transition into civilian employment. 

But I’m battling with the Department of Education (DfE) to keep this local flexibility.  The new Skills and Post-16 Education Bill going through Parliament wants to have a central register.  So we’ll only be able to fund projects through providers who DfE have vetted – with extra costs and months of delays. 

Our local knowledge reaches people who most need support.  Our DiversityNE project, in partnership with the North East Autism Society, helps people with neurodiversity.  One-to-one employment support, in-work support, and support from peers with similar conditions is making a huge difference to people’s lives. 

Our Northern Directions programme, with Groundwork North East, helps 16-24 year olds through coaching and mentoring from a youth worker.  They develop an individual action plan to overcome what may have been a terribly difficult start in life. 

Our Get Ahead Project, with Changing Lives, helps anyone over 18 facing complex barriers to unemployment.  Everyone is different.  Some people might be homeless, or a have been through the criminal justice system.  Others might struggle with substance dependency.  In all cases this is compounded by financial exclusion – employers are unlikely to hire someone without a bank account.  One-to-one tailored support helps people get employment placements and find a route into work, bringing self-esteem and the hard cash that comes with working for a living. 

As a society we have a choice.  We can write people off, or we can help them stand on their own two feet.  I say we help people.  No one gets left behind because they’ve been dealt a poor hand by life. 

I’ve written about projects helping the most vulnerable.  But we’re helping everyone – including our £2 million Green Growth Skills fund, and our digital skills programmes for people changing careers.  Our Working Homes works with tenants in social housing, 1,425 tenants have accessed learning and skills so they can earn more.  And the £430k we’ve put into Union Learn helps people already in work get additional training and new qualifications, which benefits both them and their employers. 

When one person becomes more skilled, more educated, the whole of society benefits.  

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 21st February 2022

We need joined up thinking to combat climate change and poverty

Possible war in Ukraine.  The resignation of a Cressida Dick.  The interminable saga of when, exactly, Boris Johnson’s MPs will topple him.  Liz Truss’s flood of taxpayer-funded photo-ops. 

All political stories, but none comes close to relevance of the cost of living crisis.  The cost of your groceries, fuel bills, rent and rapidly dwindling savings has an immediacy beyond the news bulletins.  The drag of poverty is as urgent as the climate crisis, and it causes long-term scarring to our whole society.  They are aspects of the same problem – an economic system that thinks making a profit is divorced from the social and environmental impact it causes.  In the end, someone has to pay.  And the burden never seems to fall on the mega-rich. 

The Government, unsurprisingly, isn’t joined-up in this.  To give just one example, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has a scheme encouraging people to save energy.  Called the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, it encourages households to install a heat-pump.  This month, the BEIS select committee published a report called Decarbonising Heat in Homes. It calls on the Government to help householders financially.  

Most of us followed the lockdown rules – with some famous party exceptions – so work like installing heat pumps was delayed.  Now time is almost running out to get the work completed and become eligible for the payments – but BEIS hasn’t extended the deadline. So people are paying out shedloads of money, with the best of green intentions, while the Government sits and watches them.  Undermining its own policy.  It’s like living in a Kafka novel. 

Government could take action. But so far it hasn’t. What’s worse is this kind of incoherence is so commonplace, no one is surprised. 

A few years ago, North East based social housing organisation Gentoo published a report about ‘Boilers On Prescription’.  The idea was that warmer homes lead to other positive effects.  They launched a pilot scheme to gather evidence.  They worked with local GPs to ‘prescribe’ a housing retrofit for patients with health conditions associated with cold damp homes.  They fitted double glazing, insulated walls and lofts, and installed energy efficient heating systems.  The results were astonishing.

Customer after customer reported a positive effect on their health, and their family’s health. Retrofitting produced the energy and financial savings that Gentoo was hoping for – a 25% reduction in carbon emissions, and a £125 average reduction in annual fuel bills.  Homes were warmer, despite using less fuel. 

But crucially, it reduced emergency hospital admissions.  It reduced emergency re-admissions. It reduced visits to GP surgeries, and GP call-outs.  It improved patients’ self-care and sustainability. It improved the quality of life for people with long-term health conditions. It increased the life expectancy of the local population.  And since an emergency hospital admission costs £2,500, it saved the NHS a fortune. 

Win. Win. Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

I raise these questions with ministers and government officials.  The need to join up policy.  How tackling poor housing improves health, reduces carbon emissions, saves the NHS money, and creates jobs all at the same time.  I even wrote a detailed policy paper, showing where the money can come from (Google Jamie Driscoll, Regional Wealth Generation).  But it’s like trying to turn a supertanker. 

At the North of Tyne Combined Authority, happily, we’ve got a different approach.

Our Green New Deal Fund provides financial backing to projects that deliver real carbon savings, and create new, well-paid jobs.  And it develops skills in our region’s low-carbon industries.

We’re providing between £200,000 to £1 million per project to support all kinds of initiatives.  Community energy schemes.  Electric Vehicle charging solutions.  Building retrofits.  Small scale renewable energy generation.  Natural capital.  Low-carbon heating systems.

Over the next four years our Green New Deal Fund will invest at least £18 million in low carbon projects in the North of Tyne.  We’re offering low-cost loans and patient equity, which recipients can repay from their energy savings or business growth.  So the fund is recyclable, meaning the money can be spent again.  And again.

Joined-up projects like this seem blindingly obvious to me.  It’s a pity the Government doesn’t see things this way.  But we see it very clearly.

The Parallels Between “Levelling Up” and “Back to Basics”

Do you remember “Back to Basics”?  The John Major version that was satirised by Viz magazine, not the Christine Aguilera album.  

Major advocated a Britain based on morality and decency, but the campaign was ridiculed when a succession of Conservative politicians were embroiled in scandals.  Some lied under oath and eventually went to prison.  Despite leading this moral crusade, it later emerged that John Major had an extra-marital affair with Edwina Currie.  That’s their business, but Prime Ministers should not set standards for others that they don’t keep themselves…

There’s an obvious parallel between “Levelling Up” and “Back to Basics.”  We’ve been waiting for the Levelling Up White Paper for 2 years, and it arrived on Wednesday.  It contains 12 missions from improving primary education to reducing crime.  I’ve never met anyone in any political party who advocates for worse education or increasing crime.  The disagreements are about how we achieve it, and where the money comes from.  This White Paper doesn’t answer the money question.  In fact, it doesn’t even say how much money is needed.  It’s more of a wish list, really. 

What is significant is the White Paper’s commitment to devolution.  It recognises the success of Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) including the North of Tyne.  Given that 8 out of 10 MCAs are led by Labour Mayors, that can only be because the evidence backs it up. 

In the North of Tyne, we’re exceeding our job creation targets by a factor of 4.  For every £1 we spend, we lever in over £3 of investment.  Every £1 we spend creating jobs returns over £3 to Treasury in increased taxes.  The North of Tyne is astonishing value for money. 

I’ve been Mayor for less than 3 years, and along with my local authority colleagues in Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside, we’re delivering more than 4,487 new jobs, saved 2,679 jobs despite the economic impact of Covid, created 28,800 training courses so people can skill-up and earn more, and supported 1,707 businesses with guidance and advice.  I want the rest of the region, South of the Tyne, to get the same benefits.

The White Paper now officially states the Government position is to expand the Mayoral Combined Authority for the North East.  It’s good news – we’re all the same conurbation.  And it unlocks £100’s of millions in transport funding. 

To be a good deal for the North East, it will have to extend our existing North of Tyne funds based on the population of the extended area.  There can be no loss of funding on a per-capita basis. I’ve been talking to Treasury, Transport and Local Government ministers for the past two years about this extra devolved funding.  It’s now within sight. 

If we can make it happen, it will bring in well over £1 billion of new money to our region.  It is much needed – our local authorities have faced severe cuts over the past decade of austerity.  For the record, I still think our local authorities need their full funding restored.  Social care, emptying the bins, parks and leisure centres, libraries and street lighting, and so much more is the province of local councils. 

The role of an MCA is about making the region prosperous across local council boundaries.  That means transport across our region – better buses, and expanding the Metro.  More firms investing here from outside, and more start ups and scale ups inside our region.  More research and development, and making sure the spin off companies are based here.  The training programmes to make sure these jobs are available for everyone whatever their background.  All based on a green economy, with a thriving cultural scene. 

For me, levelling up is back to basics.  It means nobody needing to use a food bank.  Everyone able to get where they want to go, affordably.  A secure warm home within everyone’s means.  Every parent confident that their children have a good life ahead of them – here, in the North East, if they choose to stay.  Travel is great – but we’ll know the North East has levelled up when no one has to move away to earn a decent living. 

*Originally printed in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 7 Feb 2022

Understanding the human impact of price rises

When he was PM, David Cameron was famously asked if he knew the price of a supermarket loaf of bread. He didn’t have a clue, and waffled on about owning a bread-maker.  Johnson didn’t fare much better when pressed by Jeremy Paxman on the cost of a pint of milk.  Conservative MP Nadine Dorries described them as “Posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”.

We get ours from the milkman, 75p a pint.  Call me retro, or just keen on supporting small businesses, but it comes in handy when your teenage sons have drunk the fridge dry.  A quick press on an app, and more milk appears on the doorstep next morning. 

Inflation running at 5.4% is a rough indicator of how hard prices will hit people’s wallets.  But statistics can hide the real world impact.  Anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe points out that last year the Smart Price pasta in her local Asda was 29p for 500g. Today, it is unavailable, so the cheapest bag is 70p.  A whopping 141% inflation rate for people who are at the bottom end of the income ladder. 

Reciting grocery prices is less important than understanding the human impact of price rises.  Chancellor Rishi Sunak is worth around £200 million.  He built a £400k leisure complex at his North Yorkshire mansion.  It’s not even his main home – that’s his £7 million house in Kensington.  And if he runs short, his father-in-law is worth £3.8 billion.  In 2020, Mr. Sunak failed to declare £430 million of his wife’s shares on the register of ministers’ interest.  It’s not relevant, he said.  I’m guessing they don’t need to empty the loose change jar at the end of the month to put food on the table. 

His insistence on raising National Insurance Contributions (NICs) penalises the very people who do all the work in our country.  If you’re earning £30,000 a year from work, a full 9% of your salary will go in NICs.  When the energy price cap is lifted in April, gas & electricity tariffs are forecast to rise by 50%.  Typical energy bills will rocket £700, to £2,000 a year.  If you’re on an average wage, this price hike will swallow up 10% of your income.  For a care worker on minimum wage, fuel alone eats up two months’ take home pay.  The effects will cascade through our economy.  Less disposable income hits local shops and leisure business still struggling from Covid. 

If you’re lucky enough and prudent enough to have built up some savings, they’re being eroded too.  Inflation is running 4% higher than you’ll get on a cash ISA or savings account.  This is a real worry for many, especially the elderly.  Your money is evaporating. 

We’re doing what we can in the North of Tyne.  We’ve protected over 2,600 direct jobs through the pandemic, and are creating over 4400 new ones.  Good jobs, with full time, secure contracts and decent wages, backed by our Good Work Pledge.  Our Child Poverty Prevention programme is tackling poverty at the sharp end.  Working with families discreetly, and with dignity, so kids don’t get labelled and bullied for receiving help.  We’ve supported over 1,700 local firms.   And we’ve brought big firms here, paying salaries in the £40,000s and £50,000s.    

But we don’t have the levers the Chancellor has.  Britain should have a wealth tax.  There is no economic reason not to.  There’s a raft of research on different proposals.  The basic idea is you pay a very small percentage of your total assets above a threshold.  One example is 1% of everything above £3.4 million.  So if your house, savings, and that spare Picasso in the downstairs loo total up to £3 million, you don’t pay a penny.  If you’re worth £4 million, you pay 1% of the amount above the threshold.  1% of £600,000 is £6,000.  I reckon if you’re worth £4 million, you can afford £6,000 a year. 

A group of 102 millionaires and billionaires have started the “Tax us now” campaign, calling for a wealth tax.  I confidently predict that Rishi Sunak will not be joining them.  A wealth tax is one policy that he personally would “get”. 

Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 31 Jan 2022

“In the name of God, go”

“In the name of God, go!” 

I had intended to write about the Levelling Up White Paper.  It was promised within a year of the 2019 election.  But like Godot, we’re still waiting for it.    

It’s the second time I’ve agreed with David Davis.  In November he broke the Conservative whip, voting to require water companies to “take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows”.  Is there a better metaphor for Johnson’s premiership than pumping raw sewage into our country?  403,171 times in 2020, according to the Environment Agency. 

Davis’s late intervention at PMQs this week floored the Prime Minister.  “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go.”

Johnson was visibly rattled.  “I don’t know what quotation he is alluding to”.  Odd, coming from a man who makes £thousands in royalties every month from a book about Churchill.  It is reported, and not denied, that they are largely ghost-written. 

For his much-trailed Shakespeare biography, he offered to pay an academic to research and answer questions Johnson would ask.  For this, it’s said Johnson got a £500,000 advance.   

I checked the register of members’ interests.  On 30th November 2015, it records £88,000 for “a book as yet unwritten”, plus another £9981 for the paperback.  Perhaps he never drew down the remaining £410,000.  Perhaps he thinks it’s “chicken feed” like his £22,917 a month fee from the Telegraph.  That’s £2,292 an hour for writing his column.  £2,292 an hour more than I get for writing my weekly column…

That same month he declared £274,796 in media earnings.  Of course, he’ll have needed that, scraping by on his MP’s salary of (then) £67,000.  Despite simultaneously claiming his £142,000 Mayor of London salary.  Plus the occasional £94,507.85, two hour speech in New York, or £122,899.70 three hour speech in India.  No wonder he’s had the begging bowl out since he became PM.  That gold wallpaper doesn’t buy itself. 

Remember when Johnson missed 5 consecutive COBRA meetings, dismissing Covid as “swine flu”?  Dominic Cummings claims Johnson was at the 115-room Kent mansion, Chevening House. 

“Dom,” he’s reported to have said to Cummings (Iago) “I want to run something by you. Do you think it’s ok if I spend a lot of time writing my Shakespeare book?  This f***ing divorce, very expensive.” 

The blurb says Johnson’s book, Riddle of Genius, explores “endlessly intriguing themes of the plays… illicit sex and the power struggles; the fratricide and matricide; … the racism, jealousy, political corruption.”  He’s been busy doing first hand research.    

Remember that scene in Macbeth, Act 2, where Macbeth murders King Duncan?  Has blood all over his hands, kills Duncan’s guards, and blames them.  “Wherefore did you so?” asks Macduff.  And Macbeth says those immortal words, “We’ll have to wait for Sue Gray’s inquiry.”   

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” says Marcellus, a minor character in Hamlet.  He knows that fish rot from the head. 

Johnson has drawn British politics to a place where blackmail is openly discussed.  The only levelling up we’ve seen is £4.2 billion used for pork-barrel politics.  Sprinkled across the country, disproportionately to marginal Tory seats.  Nothing to address inequality, crumbling infrastructure or decades of underinvestment. 

Johnson has even lost his Wragg.  Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Conservative MP William Wragg, claims MPs have been bribed and blackmailed over funding for their constituencies.  A dozen other Tories have come forward. 

Although individually, Conservative MPs can display moments of integrity, they’ve all gone along with him.  Defended him.  Enabled him. 

David Davis voted with Johnson and the whip to cover up Owen Paterson’s corruption.  Between them, they’ve voted to deny poor children free schools meals, the £20 universal credit cut plunging millions into poverty, and putting National Insurance increases on the lowest paid. 

Johnson has been venal.  Morally and politically corrupt.  And for what?  What big project?  He’s more indecisive than Hamlet.  He has only one passion, to advance Boris Johnson. 

Lying awake, unable to sleep, I wonder if Johnson recalls Macbeth.  And reflects his own political career.  “A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.

*Originally published in the Journal and Chronicle 24.01.22

Could you be, Could you be squeaky clean….

It turns out that a serial liar has been caught lying.  That a member of the Bullingdon Club was attending boozy parties in lockdown.  Surprised? 

That Boris Johnson’s premiership is circling the drain makes me sad for two reasons. 

Firstly, it was blindingly obvious to anyone with any understanding of human behaviour that the man was unfit for high office.  He was sacked for lying.  Twice.  From The Times in 1987 and by Tory leader Michael Howard in 2004.  He lied to the Queen about proroguing Parliament.  He said “let the bodies pile high in their thousands.”  He has been abusive to just about everyone who isn’t him – from “flag waving picanninies with watermelon smiles” to “tank-topped bum boys.”

Some thought it a good idea to put a clown in charge, because he would say the things they wanted to.  They were wrong.  A character like Johnson was never on their side.  He is always on his own. 

His 1995 article makes it clear, “… the modern British male is useless.  If he is blue collar, he is likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless, and perhaps claiming to suffer from low self-esteem brought on by unemployment.  If he is white collar, he is likely to be little better.” 

That’s you he’s talking about.  Or your Dad, your brother, your son or your husband.  He displays the same contempt for the rules as he shows for people. 

Secondly, I’m sad because it’s his personal failings bringing him down, not his political actions.  Tears for Fears nailed it with their 1989 song, Sowing the Seeds of Love.  “Could you be, could you be squeaky clean and smash any hope of democracy?” 

What if Johnson hadn’t attended those parties?  Would everything still be alright? 

Take one example.  The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill going through Parliament right now. 

Police can already suspend protests that cause serious disorder – quite right.  But this new legislation will make “serious annoyance” or being a “public nuisance” illegal.  A judge will be able to jail a person for up to 10 years.  Seriously.  A police officer will be given powers to take “such conditions as appear necessary” to that officer “to prevent disorder, damage, disruption, impact or intimidation.”

Did you notice the word “impact” snuck in there?  What the hell is the point of a protest that has no impact?  The legislation should be renamed the Father Ted Bill.  “Down with this sort of thing,” and “Careful now!”

If your local beauty spot is going to be bulldozed, your protest could land you in jail.  Not happy with who owns your football club?  Better not protest, or you could get 10 years.  Your employer failing to keep you safe?  Better stick to a strongly worded letter, or else jail for you.  Oppose the closure of your local school or hospital?  Don’t want a bypass through your village?  Better make sure your protest has no impact, you criminal.  Whichever way you vote, Johnson and his ilk will throw you under the bus.  

I asked some police constables what they think of the Police Bill this weekend.  “I joined the police because I want to protect vulnerable people.  Not to stop people protesting,” one officer told me.  Former Chief Constables have criticised it as a “politically motivated move towards paramilitary policing.”  How long before these powers are used by private security firms? 

Protest is an essential part of healthy democracy.  My fourteen year old son attended the protests against the Bill in Newcastle on Saturday.  He wants to study medicine, and be a doctor, like his Mam.  I can’t help thinking how many of his generation will end up with criminal records for peacefully campaigning for a better world. 

I’m unhappy because this Bill stays whether Johnson goes or not.  Whether they broke lockdown rules or not, Tory MPs broke their manifesto pledge and voted to raise National Insurance.  Voted to deny hungry kids school meals through the holidays.  They’ve announced plans to effectively abolish the BBC from 2027. 

There’s another line in Sowing the Seeds of Love:  We’re fools to the rules of a Government plan. 

“Industry without art is brutality”

What do the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall, the Rugby League World Cup and The Lindisfarne Gospels have in common? (It’s not a Christmas cracker joke).  They’re all part of our year-long programme of cultural events.  Backed with £2.6 million funding from the North of Tyne, these – and others – are taking place across our region in 2022.

“Industry Without Art is Brutality”.  That’s the slogan of the Artists’ Union England has across their banner.  They’re a recently-formed trade union for creatives, and I think their slogan nails it. 

Good jobs, warm, secure housing, public services and a clean environment are all vital for a decent and dignified life.  Yes, culture creates jobs.  But without art and culture our life would be sterile, our wellbeing incomplete.  That can mean everything from a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition at The Laing to being on the terraces at St. James’ (regardless of the result). 

Culture enriches our emotional world and mental health. It promotes social solidarity and inclusion. It makes us happy.  It’s no accident that medics are increasingly using social subscribing.  Evidence proves that people with depression benefit from arts activities.  We all do.  That means our £2.6million Culture and Creative Programme is a sound investment in our collective wellbeing.

If you’ve read Dan Jackson’s fantastic book, The Northumbrians, you’ll know our region has deep and diverse cultural roots. A rich literary heritage stretches back to the seventh century manuscripts produced by the monks at Lindisfarne and Jarrow.  Our history of mining and shipbuilding gave us traditions of working-class solidarity and communalism as well as The Pitmen Painters. 

Our programme reflects this cultural diversity.  There are high profile events, like the return of the 1,300 year old Lindisfarne Gospels to the North East. They’ll be on display at The Laing throughout the autumn. Exiled in London since they were taken from Durham Cathedral in the 1530s by Henry Tudor’s men, Dan Jackson describes them as Northumbria’s Elgin Marbles.  

Culture isn’t all about looking at things.  Taking part can be even more fun.  Our Crowdfund North of Tyne supports projects from local wartime history to community film making.    

Our North of Tyne Under the Stars story-telling events, through January and February, will weave together the stories from places across our region. There’ll be free events in neighbourhoods from Hexham to North Shields, all leading up to a spectacular festival in Newcastle in early February (Covid allowing!).  This is the first event of its kind in our region.  Stories give us a sense of who we are and where we belong.  Story-telling is a fundamental part of being human. The North East has a rich heritage, and this event will enable our communities to tell their own stories.

Culture is dynamic.  There is not, and never has been, a fixed and easily defined “Britishness”.  The movement of peoples from other cultural heritages have shaped our regional for millennia. 

Our Hadrian’s Wall 1900 events celebrate the 1900th anniversary of its construction.  Today it’s an iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site.  But writing on a freezing winter’s day, I’m imagining the shock it must have been for those Roman soldiers stationed here. Coming to this cold, edge of empire outpost in the wilds of Cumbria and Northumberland.  Chesters housed troops from Syria.  At Carlisle, Algerians, and at Arbeia (South Shields) there were Iraqi bargemen from the Tigris. Their diet will have changed too.  Food is a big part of culture. 

There’s evidence that some of them put down roots here, and maybe had some influence on local culture. Over the following centuries our regional culture and identity has been shaped by movements of other peoples. Anglo Saxons, Norse and Normans and in more recent times the Irish diaspora from the nineteenth century onwards. You don’t have to go back very far to see that we’ve always been influenced – and enriched – by sharing cultural traditions.    (And Stewart Lee does a great comedy routine on this). 

And it will continue – we’ve recently welcomed to our region families fleeing from persecution and war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.  They too, will help shape our culture and contribute to our cultural life.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 10 Jan 2022

What did devolution ever do for us?

Over Christmas, a journalist asked me what would be the big political issue for 2022. 

Let’s separate out the political theatre.  Boris Johnson is on the ropes.  Will Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak replace him?  Who will wield the knife?  Yada, yada.  It might seem surprising, but I don’t really care who is Prime Minister.  Not as an end in itself, anyway.  I’m far more interested in what Governments actually do. 

Over two years ago the Conservative election manifesto promised to “level up” every part of the UK (page 26).  What does that mean?    

Page 29 said, “This is an agenda which shows that the days of Whitehall knows best are over.  We will give towns, cities and communities of all sizes across the UK real power and real investment to drive the growth and the future and unleash their full potential.”  And “We will publish an English Devolution White Paper setting out our plans next year” i.e. 2020.  It’s now 2022, and still no White Paper on English Devolution.  

There may be a “Levelling Up” White Paper out this month.  There’s certainly a lot of talk about it.  Whether it delivers what’s promised is a different matter.  The same manifesto promised “We will build Northern Powerhouse Rail” (p27).  That promise was broken in the recent (Dis)Integrated Rail Plan.  Mind you, in September they broke their headline promise that “We will not raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance” (p2), with the National Insurance increases.   

There has been a pandemic.  I’ll understate the obvious and say that has been a serious distraction.  But it’s not a ‘get out of jail free’ pass for the Government. 

I’d only been mayor for ten months, and still building a brand new Combined Authority team, when lockdown happened.  It hasn’t stopped us from smashing our targets.  Creating thousands of jobs.  Training tens of thousands of people in new skills.  Implementing our Green New Deal.  It hasn’t stopped me delivering over half of my manifesto, despite being only half way through my term of office.   

So for me, this year’s big issue is: will we in the North East get the level of independence we need to secure our own future?  I will agree with the Tory manifesto on one thing: if we leave decision making in Whitehall, the North East will continue to miss out. 

I’ve been working behind the scenes, and advocating publicly, for wider North East devolution since I was elected in May 2019.  We need to speak with one voice. 

Decision making has to reside at the right level.  To quote Plato, “we must carve nature at the joints.”  International law and war crimes should reside with the UN and International Criminal Court.  Foreign policy should be the responsibility of national Government.  Income and corporation tax should also be national, to prevent a race to the bottom. 

Economic development, though, works best at the functional economic area.  In most places, that’s the conurbation and its rural hinterland.  Buses, metros, trams and local rail work best at the city region level, simply because 80% of all journeys occur on that geography. 

I’ve heard rumours that the latest draft of the White Paper proposes the creation of a statutory levelling-up quango. That’s precisely what we don’t need – another layer of government in Westminster to oversee the de-layering of government.

What we do need is the devolved power to make our own decisions in the North.

Devolution needs to be a constant work-in-progress, though, not a tick box exercise.

You remember the Monty Python sketch, “what have the Romans ever done for us?”  I’m asking what will devolution do for us?

Devolution means good jobs – proper, career-level jobs.

Paying higher-than-average wages.

Eliminating unemployment.

Affordable housing.

Improving our already-thriving cultural scene.

Decarbonising our economy and restoring biodiversity.

Faster and more reliable public transport. 

Creating a region – economic and cultural – that means our young people want to stay and make their lives here.

And significant financial independence, meaning that money generated in the region stays in the region.

If we can get all that, I don’t really care which Tory MP replaces Boris Johnson. 

*Originally published in The Journal and Evening Chronicle 3 Jan 2022

Please give to charity but what we really need is a different economic approach

This Christmas I’m enjoying a break from Zoom-world, and spending time with my family.  We watched Love Actually the other day. 

It traces ten separate stories of love.  Romantic, platonic, family.  Unrequited love, and betrayal.  Bill Nighy puts in a great comedy performance as ageing rock star Billy Mack desperate for a comeback, and Emma Thompson’s emotional range is impressive.  It’s unashamedly sentimental, but sometimes a bit of escapism is what we need.  After all, Hugh Grant’s version of the Prime Minister is eloquent and caring.  Contrast that with real life.  If Boris Johnson was in a Christmas film, it would be Lie Hard. 

Every family has their own Christmas traditions.  Ever since my eldest son was a toddler, I’ve lifted him up to put the star on top of the tree, while my wife takes a photo.  We still do it, even though he’s now fifteen years old and 6’3”.  We have presents on Xmas day, and a big dinner.  But that’s not everyone’s Christmas experience. 

Love Actually shows different kinds of family, and the impact of mental ill health on family relationships. But what’s noticeably missing is poverty.  When Colin Firth’s character is heartbroken, his response is to hire a villa in France.  The poorest character in the film is a catering manager who works in 10 Downing Street. 

For millions, the reality is different.  Successive Prime Ministers have rigged the game so the rich get richer while the rest of us pay more and get less.  After inflation, nurses get £2,715 a year less than in 2010.  Police constables £5,595 less.  Care workers – who’ve always been under paid – £1,661 a year less than 2010.  All the technological gains have gone into the pockets of the already rich.  That’s the thanks the keyworkers we clapped in lockdown will get for keeping our country running this Christmas. 

Inflation is 5.1%.  In 2011, the Cameron government changed the way inflation is calculated from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  The old method – RPI – is currently 7.1%.  Old age and public sector pensions increase according to CPI.  But costs such as rail fares and student loans increase with the RPI.  Families are under huge pressure to spend, for parents to buy the latest toy.  Fuel prices are through the roof – and the poorer you are, the bigger proportion of your income is eats. 

Shelter report that 104,000 families in privately rented homes received eviction notices in the last month.  In the past three months, 55,000 children have been evicted, along with their families.  What long term damage is being done by making children homeless?  What costs are we storing up for the future? 

Food is iconic to many Christmas traditions, from mince pies to pigs in blankets.  Right outside my office at Newcastle Helix is the People’s Kitchen.  A charity providing a warm meal, clothing and support for homeless and vulnerable people, it’s open every day of the year.  Christmas Day is no exception.  Over 200 meals were served, and a safe haven provided. 

Hunger in Britain is rampant.  It’s worse than when Dickens was writing.  In 1846, there were 1.3 million paupers from a population of 26 million.  In 2021, 5.9 million adults experienced food insecurity in the six months from February and August!  That’s a 50% increase on 1846, even allowing for population size. 

Boris Johnson will be ditched before the next election.  But whoever is the next Conservative leader will have voted for austerity.  Voted against giving kids free school meals in the holidays.  Voted against paying key workers properly.  Voted against private rented homes being fit for human habitation. 

Please, do give to charity if you can.  It makes a difference right now.  But it’s a sticking plaster.  As Clement Attlee said, “Charity is a cold, grey, loveless thing.  If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim.” 

UK citizens give £10.1 billion a year in charity.  UK tax havens cost £120 billion.  What we really need is a different economic approach.  We need socialism, actually. 

The story I want to hear is how we turned this around and arrived back at Bedford Falls.

Stories reach us in a way that facts can’t. From telling folktales around a campfire, to reading to our children at night, it’s innate to human communication.

Charles Dickens was horrified by the social deprivation in Victorian England. He tried political journalism. He published pamphlets campaigning for social change. But it’s his stories that made the impact. No less a figure than Karl Marx said that Dickens “issued to the world more political and social truths than have been uttered by all the professional politicians, publicists and moralists put together.”

A Christmas Carol is a classic example. You know the plot. By relentless hoarding of wealth, Ebenezer Scrooge has pushed everyone away and spreads misery to all he meets. Four ghosts take him on a personal journey from being, well, a Scrooge, to a philanthropist. At its heart, it’s story of fall and redemption. Of showing that you can choose the kind of person you are.

It’s A Wonderful Life is another Christmas classic with similar themes. I’ll be watching it again this week, at the Tyneside Cinema with my family. It’s the story of George Bailey, who lives in the idyllic town of Bedford Falls. George gives up his personal dreams to protect his family’s savings and loan business – the American version of a building society. Things go wrong, and he finds himself contemplating his life on a bridge when he is visited by his guardian angel. Like Scrooge, George is shown a vision of an alternative reality. One where George wasn’t around to stand up to the rich banker, Henry F. Potter.

Potter has taken over the savings and loan. Bedford Falls is renamed Pottersville. Families live in overpriced slums. Sirens blare. Crime and substance abuse are rife. Women work as sex workers. Debt and pawn brokers abound.

The film was investigated by the FBI during the McCarthy witch hunts. Apparently, showing the ills of putting greed before social good was “a common trick used by communists”.

Both stories show us that when decision making considers only personal enrichment, we all end up poorer. The drive to hoard money corrupts human relationships. These stories from the past are just a fraction of where we are now. The world’s richest 26 people own more than the poorest 50%. Corporations hoard so much money they are buying up their own shares to inflate the prices and enrich their executives.

Both Dickens and Capra offer us a choice between two futures. That’s the choice we’ve been wrestling with as a country over the past decade. Since the financial crash, food banks have proliferated, homelessness has skyrocketed, and knife crime has become endemic. Austerity has squeezed household incomes. And the billionaires have made out like bandits. We are most definitely not all in it together.
The popular reaction has fuelled the Scottish Independence movement, the rise of socialism in the Labour Party, and a reaction against the status quo that led to Brexit. Few cared about the intricacies of trade agreements or the structure of the European Commission. People were angry that no one was listening.

I fear we are sliding towards Pottersville. The Prime Minister brazens out corruption, voted through by his MPs. Wages have stagnated, small businesses struggle, public services starved of funding and seen as cash cows for privatisation. Levelling up is bread and circuses. It cherry picks high profile projects while schools go underfunded, and our social care system crumbles. People are paying more tax than ever – no, scratch that. Working people pay more tax than ever. The tax havens remain untouched. And the Home Secretary is making it illegal to protest.

That’s the choice. On a personal level you have the freedom to choose what type of person you are. But society can make it easy to be a good person. I’d like to see our country have top quality education and skills training, lots of good well-paid jobs, safe streets, affordable homes, and a good transport system. And all without killing the planet. The money exists. It’s just being hoarded by the few.

The story I want to hear is how we turned this around and arrived back at Bedford Falls.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 20 Dec 2021.

Creating jobs need not cost the Earth

The link between our financial system and tackling climate change is not an obvious one.  Post-COP the whole world gets the urgency of reducing emissions towards zero.    

But how?  There are big-ticket items, like building a multi-gigawatt wind farm on the Dogger Bank.  Building a gigafactory to electrify Britain’s vehicle fleet.  Things that are happening right now, with our region at the leading edge. 

But if you’re not a multi-billion pound company, what can you do? 

This is where our Green New Deal comes in. 

I’m often asked questions like – “I want to fit solar panels on the roof of my factory, can you help?” The answer is now yes, apply to our Green New Deal Fund.  Businesses can apply for loans, grants and equity for projects between £200k and £2 million.  Not just businesses, also education institutions, social housing providers, not-for-profit organisations and local authorities.

The types of projects could include community energy schemes, electric vehicle charging points, retrofitting buildings to stop wasting heat, small scale renewables, or low carbon heating.  Sometimes working with nature is the best way to take carbon out of the atmosphere, be that rewilding, or restoring upland peat bogs.  This is the most exciting bit for me: I can’t wait to see the imaginative projects the people of North of Tyne develop. 

They key thing here is that most projects never get off the drawing board.  It’s easy to imagine more sustainable ways to do things.  But where does the money come from?  We’ve done the work and crunched the numbers to figure out where we can get most bang for our buck.  Our Green New Deal Fund will predominantly be loans and grants that projects will repay from their successes. 

The money we have is public money.  We need to account for every penny.  This means robust approval and reporting processes.  I take this very seriously, it’s what accountability means.  If we did every project as a standalone, bespoke piece of work, my staff would be buried under a mountain of paper (or the electronic equivalent – a mountain of bytes).  This is where funds come in. 

By working with project owners – public, private or community – we’ll help them identify where they can generate revenue.  It might be from energy savings.  Or selling electricity.  Or developing new products.  Or subsidies for restoring nature. 

The barrier for most projects is that capital is expensive.  If you need to borrow from a bank, at a commercial rate, your sums probably won’t add up.  Global corporations have mountains of cheap cash, but only deploy it when they can extract a return for their shareholders.  Small, local projects just can’t compete.  Our fund levels the playing field.  It makes it possible for community energy and rewilding to happen.  Without having to pay for the profits of financers – often based in tax havens –  they only need to repay their costs.  By making the money available as patient capital, or favourable loans, we can channel money to do public good. 

For every £4,525 invested, a project must save at least one tonne of carbon dioxide per year.  And for energy efficiency projects it must reduce energy costs by at least 10%.   But it also supports skilling people up for green jobs, encourages innovation and creates a region we are proud of.

Of course, the cost of not dealing with the climate emergency is even greater.  Central Government needs to step up, and invest properly in sustainable housing, in retrofitting buildings, and in clean public transport. 

But our Green New Deal will grow.  Every project we fund will repay the money in time, so we can spend it again and again.  And once we’ve established a pipeline of projects, we can lever in more money and fund more projects, in a virtuous circle.  Every job, and every tonne of carbon counts.  It’s by paying attention to the small business and community ecosystem that enables us to achieve so much extra. 

The North of Tyne Green New Deal Fund will create jobs, reduce emissions, and save money – it’s the kind of innovation that’s needed for local areas to become net-zero. Creating jobs need not cost the Earth. 

  • Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 13 Dec 2021

We urgently need a resilient, environmentally sustainable electricity system

Around 5,000 North East homes are enduring their second weekend without electricity.  People are suffering.   

In 21st century Britain our daily lives depend on a functioning power system.  We can be stoic about losing Netflix for a week.  But boilers and central heating systems use electric pumps and control systems.  Wrapping up warm is easier said than done for families with babies or the elderly.  Kids can’t properly study by torchlight, and anyone working from home or their business is likely to need a computer or electrical equipment.  Access to the internet requires wifi.  At the very least a charged mobile phone.  And mobility devices from chair lifts to wheelchairs need power.  Not to mention electric vehicles and spoiled food in freezers.  I spoke to one family who use a septic tank in their rural home.  Their pump is electric. 

I’m hearing great reports of communities looking after each other, and helping out vulnerable neighbours.  Thank you to everyone who is showing kindness and generosity.  But no one should be in the position of needing wonderful neighbours simply to live their life.  Especially when you’ve paid your electricity bill. 

The last thing we need is politicians posing with pictures of fallen trees or downed powerlines.  Getting in the way of recovery efforts.  Better to keep out of the way of the engineers and technicians doing their job on the ground.  They’re working long hours in difficult and dangerous conditions.  A big thank you to everyone involved. 

But who runs our electricity supply? 

It’s been fragmented since privatisation in 1990.  A multitude of companies run the power plants.  National Grid PLC run the large pylons, and are responsible for making sure there’s enough total power going into the grid at any given time.  The local distribution networks are responsible for maintaining the connection between the national grid and your premises.  In the North East, that’s a monopoly held by Northern Powergrid (Northeast). 

Then there’s the electricity retailers.  They buy and sell electricity to customers, but don’t generate it or maintain the infrastructure.  I’ve lost track of the number who’ve gone bust.  It’s approaching 30.  A system requires us to use our spare time to switch suppliers to stop being overcharged is a broken system in the first place. 

The whole lot is overseen by OfGem, the regulator.  Government gives OfGem limited powers.  Fining companies after the event is no substitute for making them get it right and preventing a crisis. 

I met with OfGem in August.  As we deal with the climate emergency, we know storms will become more frequent and more intense. We also know that shifting to electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and heat pumps will place more demand on the grid.  Our current grid is inadequate to this challenge.  In fact, it’s not even resilient enough to deal with one storm.  I’ve called for a major review. 

Northern Powergrid (Northeast) is owned by Northern Powergrid Holdings, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, previously known as MidAmercian Energy Holdings Company, which is 90% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is run by Warren Buffet, who has a personal net worth of $102 billion.  

A quick look at Northern Powergrid (Northeast)’s accounts shows an operating profit of £125 million on a turnover of £355 million.  That’s 35% of revenue taken as operating profit.  Before tax, £93 million a year leaves our region instead of being reinvested. 

I can’t help thinking there’s a better system. 

I want companies and organisations to make a profit.  It’s essential that they have money left over to invest in new equipment, in staff training, and maintaining a financial reserve.  But in company accounting, that’s already been included in the operating expenses.  As have the salaries and bonuses of the executives and board members.

Our electricity system is essential infrastructure.  We have to invest in it.  It’s also a natural monopoly.  We need a system whose primary goal is to create a resilient, environmentally sustainable electricity system.  No one should be suffering weeks without electricity.  If that £93 million a year was invested into resilience, we’d be a lot better prepared for a stormy future. 

From Peppa Pig to Lederhosen – it’s been an interesting week

From Peppa Pig to Lederhosen, it’s been an interesting week.

Monday started with getting the Metro over to Tyne Dock for the CBI conference. And the collective disbelief when the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland started doing car impressions from the platform. He then quoted Lenin, compared himself to Moses, and after losing his place, a bizarre tangent about Peppa Pig. The assembled business audience weren’t impressed. Asked about the failure to invest in rail links to the North East, the PM said it was all going to be brilliant. Then mentioned Warrington, Marsden (near Huddersfield), Birmingham and Nottingham. Every one of those places is south of the M62.

What a contrast to Tony Danker, CEO of the CBI. He said industry’s priorities are investment in research and development, industrial strategy around building clusters of expertise, and investment in skills training. And gently mocked the idea that Peppa Pig world was the way to level up the North.

By the way, this idea that Labour was ever hostile to business is rubbish. Firms that look after their workers are a blessing. It’s tax dodging, fire-and-rehire, and asset stripping that we want to eradicate. Something we share with every ethical business out there. In fact, Tony Danker praised the work we’re doing in the North of Tyne.

It’s not all meetings and speeches, of course. Most of my job is about delivery. Building links with businesses to boost the local economy. Joint working with colleges and universities. Working through policy proposals with the team, and adding the weight of the Mayoral office to bring people together and get things done – letters, Zooms, and old fashioned phone calls. Plus vast amounts of reading – budget reports, policy reports, investment reports. Being on top of the detail matters, but doesn’t translate into an interesting newspaper column.

Extended North East devolution is on the agenda. North of Tyne leaders are discussing what’s needed across the North of Tyne, as a precursor to dealing with Government. Rural Northumberland has different priorities for the urban core of Tyne & Wear. Different, but reinforcing. Better rail connections benefit Morpeth and Hexham as much as Gosforth and Gateshead. Affordable housing is an issue in Beadnell and North Shields. We all want to create more jobs.

Wednesday, a train to Leeds for the Transport for the North Board (TfN). It was a feisty one. Last week’s Integrated Rail Plan stirred a hornets’ nest. I spoke in detail about how and why we needed the Leamside Line reopening, and it was adopted into a unanimous agreed position from the TfN board.

The Secretary of State needs to sit down with us and find the mechanisms for delivering the full Northern Powerhouse Rail project. Specifically, all five Metro Mayors present want powers on Land Value Uplift. Northumberland Council have been piloting this for reopening the Northumberland line. I’ve been pushing this with treasury ministers and officials. When taxpayers fund a new railway station, the land around it shoots up in value. Rather than going to property speculators, it should fund the project.

With those powers we can build new Metro extensions, stations in rural Northumberland, and superbus routes across our region. At the People’s Powerhouse Convention on Thursday, Andy Burnham was kind enough to point out that I’d led the thinking on this. There are decent politicians about – not everyone is in it for the second jobs.

Thursday evening was Mayor’s Question Time at the Catalyst in Newcastle. After talking about White Ribbon day – the campaign to encourage men and boys to stand up to violence against women and girls, I took questions. Details of the jobs we’re creating. The climate education we’re delivering in schools. Mobility scooter access on the new Metro trains. Improving health through better economic outcomes. Affordable housing. The balance between work and family life. And too much else to cover here. We’re chopping the video up into question-sized chunks and publishing it online.

Early Friday, and a train down south. I chaired a conference building political, business and university links between the North East and Bavaria. The comparisons and contrasts are fascinating. We share a strong regional identity. Far from Berlin, Bavaria was the poorest region in Germany. It grew into the richest by using devolved powers. We’ve agreed to build links on research and development and the green economy, so time well spent. Plus the personal connections – on Friday evening, a Bavarian minister sang us a German song, and I felt it was only fair to reciprocate with the Blaydon Races.

Then home by Saturday night, and seeing the snow and disruption caused by Storm Arwen. I hope you’re keeping safe and warm

Why the Government’s rail plans are failing the North East

One year ago, my column focused on the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP). It’s the Government’s national rail investment plan for the next thirty years. In a mockery of tragic irony, the IRP was delayed. And delayed. And delayed. While we’ve seen £billions on HS2, £billions on road junctions, and cuts to air passenger duty. When it was finally published last week, the IRP was the metaphorical bus replacement service.

The Prime Minister came out with some lame spin about delivering faster and reducing journey times. But if you read the IRP, page 84 says journey time improvements from Newcastle are “subject to stopping patterns.” In other words, the trains will run faster as long as they don’t stop to let passengers get on. Already this year we’ve had to fight off attempts to cancel the Edinburgh to Liverpool train, which will reduce services to Berwick, Morpeth, Newcastle, Durham and Darlington.

The North East invented the railways. In 1829, Stephenson’s Rocket was built at the Forth Street Works in Newcastle. It heralded the biggest public transport expansion the world has ever seen.

Twenty years later, the Queen Victoria opened the High Level Bridge. A masterpiece of Geordie ingenuity, also designed by Robert Stephenson. By the mid-1850s, there were more than 7,000 miles of track across the country, including two tracks across the Belmont Viaduct, opened in 1856, and two tracks across the Durham Viaduct, opened in 1857.

In the 1960s, the Belmont Viaduct and Leamside Line were mothballed as part of the Beeching cuts. It was reopened and served as the alternative route when the East Coast Mainline (ECML) was being electrified. It was mothballed again in 1991.

So now, only two tracks connect the North East. Coming from the south, the ECML has four tracks until you reach Northallerton. Then it’s just two – one in each direction. All the trains from Edinburgh to London, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, heading north or south, must share these two tracks with slow moving freight and local commuter services. Only six trains an hour can safely use the track. We’re using 164 year old infrastructure.

The Leamside line still exists. It diverges from the ECML at Ferryhill. It travels through the Durham Coalfield, via Washington, and joins the network near Heworth.

Reopening it would give us four tracks. In effect doubling our capacity. We can run 9 intercity trains per hour plus local services. And faster, because slower trains can run down one line, and faster trains down the other. We can integrate Washington and Sunderland into a new Wearside Metro loop. And connect them to the rail network without going into Newcastle Central.

HS2 costs £307 million per mile. £106 billion in total. London’s Crossrail is £18 billion. Re-opening and electrifying the Leamside Line will cost £600 million. It’s a tiny fraction of the investment London gets.

A year ago, the Leamside Line wasn’t in any accepted rail plans. After some diplomacy with other Northern Labour mayors, members of Transport for the North committee backed the Leamside Line as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). That was step one.

But Government has failed the North, and NPR won’t be built. The Red Wall Conservative MPs must feel betrayed by their leader, and worried for their jobs, knowing that constituents no longer believe Tory promises to “level up the North”.

But I’m not giving up the fight. Since publication on Thursday, I’ve already spoken to the rail minister to find a way to get the Leamside Line funded.

I’ve been bending the ear of all the transport ministers and Secretary of State about the Leamside Line. Our region’s MPs raised it in the Commons.

The IRP left a door open. Page 114 says, “Government considers that the case for re-opening the Leamside route would be best considered as part of any future city region settlement.”

For the past two years I’ve been calling for our region to unite and working to make it happen. It’s the only way to get transport devolved. And until we’re masters of our own destiny, we’ll always be forgotten by a Government that doesn’t know its Ashington from its Easington.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 22 Nov 2021

The Boiling Frog of Climate Change

If you put a frog into boiling water, it’ll jump straight out.  Whereas if you put it into tepid water and heat it up, the frog will not notice, and passively be boiled to death.  Firstly, don’t try this at home.  Secondly, it’s not true. 

It comes from an 1869 experiment by Friedrich Goltz.  He discovered that a frog will jump out of water once it is heated to 25 degrees C.  But a frog with its brain removed will do nothing, and be boiled to death.  This leads to two thoughts.  Firstly, did it really take an experiment to discover that removing a frog’s brain impairs its survival instincts?  Secondly, why is humanity behaving like a brainless frog? 

I refer, of course, to COP26 and the impending climate catastrophe.  “Keep 1.5 alive” has as much meaning as “levelling up” or “make America great again”.  Optimism is not a policy.  If we look at the actual real-world policies, Climate Action Tracker says we’ll see a global temperature increase of between 2 degrees and 3.5 degrees, with a 50% chance of 2.7 degrees. 

What do those numbers mean?  Well, in the depths of the last ice age, global temperatures were 5 degrees lower.  Newcastle was under an ice sheet 300 metres thick. 

We’re already 1.2 degrees warmer, and it’s causing floods, droughts, forest fires, sea ice to melt and sea levels to start rising. 

The North China Plain is twice the size of Britain.  It’s home to 400 million people, and the source of much of China’s food.  If global temperatures increase by 2.9 degrees, they will experience extreme heatwaves by 2070.  Heatwaves so hot that a healthy adult, sitting still in the shade, will die within six hours.  Children and the elderly much sooner.  Similar effects will be seen across India, Africa, coastal cities in the Middle East, and Central America.  What do we think will happen when food production collapses?  States will fail, civil wars will run rampant, and people will flee.  The world economy as we know it will collapse.  Their problems are our problems.  Yet this is the policy path our planet is currently on. 

Despite the spin, it’s not simply the fault of other countries.  How many of the clothes on sale here were made in Britain?  Or the electronics?  Or even our food.  50% of the UK’s food comes from abroad.  Covid showed us the vulnerability of our food supply chain.  If we’re offshoring our emissions, we share responsibility.

And we have to cancel the Cambo oilfield off Shetland, the coal mine in Cumbria, and drilling for oil in Surrey.  In the North of Tyne we’re creating thousands of well-paid, economically-viable, low-carbon jobs.  Government can create hundreds of thousands more if they want to. 

Two things have come out of the Glasgow climate summit.  A failure to meet the promise of $100bn a year to help decarbonise developing economies.  And a failure to even agree we should stop burning coal at some point. 

What COP26 needed to do was agree a plan to phase-out all fossil fuel production, starting immediately.  Replacing it with energy efficiency and renewables.  Instead we got “efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power and a phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.  There are more qualifiers in that sentence than Andorra’s route to the World Cup. 

In 2009, at COP15, rich nations promised developing nations $100bn a year to decarbonise their economies.  Much of that would be spent, of course, buying technology from Western owned corporations.  Glasgow’s COP26 failed to deliver that.  The IMF reported that last year, fossil fuel subsidies were $5.9 trillion.  We can’t even find $100bn to save our own planet, when it’s only 6 days worth of fossil fuel subsidies. 

Why did COP26 fail?  Because like the brainless frog, our Prime Minister and other world leaders are seduced by creeping normality.  The idea of tackling the vested interests of billionaires seems more shocking to them than our civilisation collapsing.  So they bathe in the warming waters of kick-backs, paid consultancies, and a revolving door of corporate directorships once they’ve served their time in office.  We’d be safer with a frog in charge. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 15 Nov 2021

About time we cleaned up politics

In George Orwell’s “1984” Winston Smith is tortured until he agrees that two plus two equals five. The point is to make him see that there is no objective truth other than what Big Brother says is true.  To give up on truth altogether.

Good citizens were exhorted to train their minds to only think well of the government.  “Crimestop” as Orwell described it, “includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop, in short, means protective stupidity.” 

On the outside wall were the three slogans of the Party: “WAR IS PEACE,” “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY,” and “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. 

Let’s add “CORRUPTION IS INTEGRITY.”  It is the world of the three word slogan and the abusive Tweet.  But don’t despair – there is such a thing as truth.  And it comes out eventually.

Tory MP Owen Patterson received over £100,000 a year on top of his MP’s salary, to lobby ministers for Randox, and Lynn’s Country Foods.  He was investigated, given appeals, and represented by his lawyers.  He was still found guilty of breaking lobbying rules. 

When the vote to suspend him came before Parliament, the PM and the Tory whips closed ranks to change the system.  The Government won the vote.  MPs would now regulate themselves.  Ministers started a briefing campaign against the Standards Commissioner.  MPs were briefed to say Paterson’s treatment was unfair.  Poor Mr Paterson was the victim all along.  Two plus two equals five. 

Until the following day, when the weight of truth forced a U-turn. 

Here’s a simple moral truth.  The culture of MPs having a second job is wrong.  If you can’t manage on £81,932 a year, then don’t run as an MP.  Despite getting £520 an hour from Randox, Paterson voted to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week.  And voted against giving kids free school meals through the holidays. 

That a corrupt politician got caught isn’t the big story.  In just the past year Robert Jenrick accepted a donation of £12,000 after letting property developer Richard Desmond off a £45 million bill.  Oil firms who donated £419,000 to the Tory Party won oil exploration licenses in British waters – in the middle of a climate emergency.  And Matt Hanckock’s mates got £millions in PPE contracts during the pandemic via a private WhatsApp group. 

The bigger story is that Tory MPs closed ranks to change the definition of wrongdoing.

Blyth’s Ian Levy voted in favour.  As did Durham MPs Dehenna Davison, Richard Holden and Paul Howell.  The Government whips were twisting arms and threatening reprisals.  But custodians of democracy have a duty to put the public good ahead of their political career.  As Orwell wrote, “It is quite possible that we are descending into an age in which two plus two will make five when the Leader says so.” 

But let’s not be lazy and give into “crimestop”.  Not all MPs are the same.  Labour MPs voted against. Some Tories abstained, including Junior Minister Guy Opperman and Cabinet Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.  For ministers to defy a three-line whip is significant.    

Mr Johnson wants to change the rules because there’s a skip full of corruption waiting to be investigated. 

The PM used a £25,000 a week holiday villa – and made the owner a Life Peer.  He took a £200,000 donation to revamp his flat with gold wallpaper.  Last week he took a personal jet – which we paid for – from Glasgow to meet with his old pals at London’s Garrick club to save his old mate Owen Paterson.  Not a small jet, mind, but an Airbus A321 that normally carries 196 passengers. 

What’s the media and commentariat response?  “Ooh, he might lose some popularity in the polls.”  If we had better political journalism in this country, they’d be asking, “How do we prevent this from happening again?” 

There is an offence called Misconduct in Public Office.  It’s a centuries old law that’s so ill-defined it’s not much use for prosecuting corrupt politicians.  Last December, the Law Commission recommended replacing it with a specific offence of “Corruption in Public Office.”

It’s about time we cleaned up politics.  The corrupt should stand trial.  However rich and powerful their friends are. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 08 Nov 2021

Rishi’s Budget porkies

Let’s start this week with a quiz.  Multiple choice – which of these is true?

The UK is “well on the way to recovery.”

The UK has “the fastest growth in the G7.”

We are in a “new age of optimism.”

“We can’t afford to borrow any more.”

Eon Productions have invited me to play a cameo role in the next James Bond film. 

They’re all false, apart from that last one.  Which is also false.  But if Rishi Sunak is allowed to tell porkies in the Budget, I’m allowed to make a rhetorical point in my column. 

“Our success will be measured not by the billions we spend, but by the outcomes we achieve, and the difference we make to people’s lives,” he said. Hard to disagree, but Mr. Sunak and I want to make different differences. 

I want to end poverty, create jobs, and tackle the climate emergency.  He wants to… do what exactly?  Strip away the rhetoric, and it’s hard to see what his budget will achieve.  On Thursday I was in a meeting with the other northern Labour Mayors.  “He was auditioning to be Boris’s replacement,” said one, “that budget was aimed at Tory MPs, no one else.” 

In September, our Combined Authority sent the Chancellor our Comprehensive Spending Review proposals.  Specific, evidence-backed schemes.  £639 million of projects attracting £3.5 billion of private investment, creating 14,500 jobs.  Projects on low-carbon living, increased research and development, and strengthening the UK’s resilience to future pandemics.

We’re making rapid progress towards a Clean Energy Economy, with new jobs in net-zero industries. We’re closing the education gap and getting more people into jobs & training. We’re focusing on rapid renewal for our towns, high streets, communities and places. On transport and infrastructure that drives green growth. 

My vision – and NTCA’s vision – for the region is a place where kids want to stay when they graduate.  A place where people want to bring up families.  A place with good jobs, with good prospects and good wages. But it needs investment. 

On that, who do you think the UK Government borrows from?  Government sold £450 billion in bonds through the pandemic.  A bond is a legally-binding IOU.  Government says, “you give me £1000 now, and I’ll give you it back in ten years time.”  They pay interest in the meantime, known as the ‘coupon’.  Interest rates are currently 0.1%.  So for every £1000, Government pays £1 a year. 

But here’s the clever part.  The bonds were sold to the Bank of England, via something called Quantitative Easing.  Which means the Bank of England pays the interest right back to the Treasury.  If you think that’s exactly the same as creating money, you’re right.  So in fact, borrowing to invest puts the UK Govt in debt to no one but itself. 

So Mr. Sunak’s choice to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week and plunge 300,000 children into poverty was not economic, but ideological.  All he’s done is make the future worse – every child who has a difficult start in life weakens our whole society. 

He could have invested £639 million here, in the North of Tyne.  He could have empowered us to create 14,500 jobs.  Each job pays income tax and NICs.  Payroll taxes alone would repay the money in just five years.  Add in the VAT, corporation tax, and low-carbon growth, and Government would see its money at least doubled. 

Why didn’t he?  The answer is ideology.  A fortnight ago, I was in the room and heard the Prime Minister say that Government has limited power to fix the climate crisis – it was up to the free market and consumer choice.  He said elsewhere that the lorry driver crisis is the fault of lorry drivers and haulage firms.  His Government outsourced test and trace to private companies with no experience, in a colossal waste of public money. 

In short, this Government is led by people who don’t believe Government should fix things.  And so it is, we go into COP26 with no credible plan to fix the climate emergency for our kids and grandkids.  Just a cut in taxes to Air Passenger Duty, the most polluting form of transport there is. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 01 Nov 2021

Beyond the pomp & ceremony

Like any typical lad from the North East, I’d never been to the Guildhall before.  It is deep within the City of London in the Financial District.  The whole place oozes money. £millions change hands at the drop of a hat.  And many of the problems I’m dealing with started here, their roots in financial speculation undermining the foundations of our economy.

I found myself here to attend the Global Investment Summit.  This was a gathering of global business leaders and government leaders from across the UK.  That was on Tuesday last week.  So on Monday I got on a train with a mission to bring more jobs to the region, starting with a formal dinner at the Guildhall on the Monday evening. 

On the way down to London I was reading The Northumbrians by Dan Jackson.  A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dan, and his in-depth knowledge of the region piqued my interest.  I’d highly recommend his book (and I’m not on commission). 

He mentions about the Coal Exchange in London.  It’s demolished now but was a magnificent building on the Banks of the Thames, 15 minutes walk from the Guildhall.  Its place in the City of London and grandeur demonstrated the power and wealth that was shared by the North East.  A grandeur that’s still reflected in some of the buildings here.  During this time the North East was known for its hard-working people, inventiveness, and for enjoying a couple of drinks now and then.  I believe none of that has changed.

Today, even closer to the Guildhall, just around the corner in fact, is a Greggs bakery.  

Having trumpeters in bearskin hats at dinner was a new one on me, along with loyal toasts to the Queen.  There was a gentleman known as the Toast Master who introduced the speakers.  To gain attention the usual “Ladies and Gentlemen” was preceded by a long list of Excellencies, Lords, Aldermen, Chancellor, Secretaries of State, and First Commoner.  Not Mayors though.

But beyond the pomp I managed to have some productive conversations about real stuff with the business leaders there.  Low carbon transport, offshore wind, health technology, future of hydrogen.  I even talked to a rep from Mitsubishi about jiu jitsu. 

After the Guildhall Steve Rotheram, Andy Burnham and I decided to find a real pub for a proper pint.  Steve said it was reported that £24 trillion was represented in that room.  I had £30 in notes in my pocket, not sure if that was counted or not.

Tuesday morning, the Global Investment Summit began at the Science Museum. So I wound my way through a huge police presence, and off to the breakfast networking event.  There was as much muesli and yogurt as you could eat…

At the keynote speech Mr Johnson regaled us with his after dinner speaking wit.  I was hoping for detailed plans for the future of our country, but he focused on jokes about Peppa Pig.  And said the free market would sort out the other problems. 

The contacts and conversations were useful.  I’d set up a string of meetings with people about developing their businesses here, in the North of Tyne.  I have a stack of leads for my team to follow up, and we’re working hard to translate them into real jobs. 

Then it was back on the train, laptop out, until that amazing view of the Tyne bridges as you approach Central Station.

Barely had I got my feet back on North Eastern soil, I put my suit jacket in my backpack and cycled over to Verisure’s Centre of Excellence near Longbenton.  

I spoke with Luis Gill, their founder and global president.  I first spoke to Verisure two years ago, when we persuaded them to locate here.  I told them I wanted to build a green economy based on good jobs.  They told me they wanted to build a loyal workforce by treating their employees well.    Two years on, they already employ 400 people.  Now they’re recruiting another 100. 

And as for good work, they’ve just given their staff an average 12% pay rise.  So if you’re after a job, send them your CV. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 25 Oct 2021

Good mental health underpins our individual and collective wellbeing

You’ll have seen it, perched on cliff tops next to the ancient Tynemouth Priory, the Tynemouth coastguard station. Decommissioned twenty years ago, it’s stood empty since.  Now, thanks to the work of local women’s veterans’ organisation, Salute Her,  a new life as a wellbeing centre for women veterans could be on the horizon.

Paula from Salute Her gave me a tour of the building.  We met with staff from English Heritage, the custodians of the site, and Sir Alan Campbell, MP for Tynemouth.

Paula’s vision is for a Health & Wellbeing Centre for women veterans.   Its history both as a place of sanctuary makes it an ideal location.  It’s a safe, women-only space, where veterans will get help with mental health issues and trauma resulting from military service. It will be a first not just for the region, but nationally. It’s early days for the project but I’m keen to help make it become a reality.

Innovation in addressing mental health needs is the hallmark of another mental health project I visited last week. In case you’re wondering why the mental health focus, it was World Mental Health Day last week. I took the opportunity to visit the Recovery College Collective in Newcastle. Better known as Recoco, the college provides peer-led support and education. It supports over 2,000 people with lived experience of mental ill health. I last visited before the pandemic. Since then, they’ve had to deal with a double-whammy of supporting people through lockdown, and of finding new premises.

Covid safety restrictions required creativity and resourcefulness – everything from moving groups and courses online, to simply going for a walk to talk to people. Alisdair, Recoco’s co-director, told me that they’ve also pioneered new ways of working with statutory mental health services. By having services in the same place, it helps people stay connected when moving between services. Take a look at their online prospectus at www.recoverycoco.com. You’ll be impressed with what they have to offer. And on top of this, they managed to find the new premises in Carliol Square in Newcastle. They’ve plans to develop this into a mental health care, treatment and research hub. What an asset to the city centre that will be.

The Combined Authority doesn’t have the remit for public health or treatment services of course. That lies with our local authorities and NHS.  Still, supporting wellbeing and good mental health is behind everything we do.  Creating meaningful jobs and tackling poverty are integral to this.

The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is “Mental health in an unequal world.” Inequality takes many forms. The relationship between poverty and poor mental health is a close one.  Children in the poorest 20% of households are four times more likely to have a serious mental health condition by the age of 11 compared to those from the wealthiest 20%.  Despite this, the government cut £20 per week from Universal Credit. This £1000 a year goes to working families amongst others.  It has plunged an astonishing 840,000 people, including 300,000 children into poverty.  It risks their physical and mental health, and strains our NHS. After ten years of austerity, mental health services have 8.5% less funding than in 2010, but demand has risen by 20%.  No wonder GPs and hospitals are stretched to breaking point.  

I’m working hard with my cabinet to pull together a range of interventions to tackle poverty. We’ve developed a Child Poverty Prevention Programme for our region. This is putting £900k in projects including poverty intervention measures in schools. Our Good Work Pledge challenges the scourge of precarious employment and in-work poverty.  It also requires employers to look after the mental wellbeing of their staff. Our Poverty Truth Commission, launching soon, will develop further measures to alleviate financial hardship. And, we’re working with the well-respected wellbeing authority, Carnegie UK, to become the first Combined Authority to measure wellbeing as an objective, rather than abstract economic statistics.

Good mental health underpins our individual and collective wellbeing. I’m working to make mental health promotion a factor in everything we do at North of Tyne.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 18 Oct 2021

Like Bond, let’s just get the job done.  

When I was elected Mayor in 2019, I joined the group of Metro Mayors already in existence, and became ‘M9’.  The first meeting was in London’s City Hall, where SPECTRE was filmed, doubling as villain C’s HQ.  I was disappointed Sadiq Khan wasn’t stroking a white cat. 

‘I’m straight out of a Bond movie’ I said to my family, who appeared to be less than convinced. I reminded them that I’m a black-belt in jiu jitsu, and own a tuxedo, but apparently being Bond takes more than that. 

Anyway, we all went to see the new Bond at the Tyneside last week – highly recommend and don’t worry, no spoilers – and it set me thinking about the whole series of films.

James Bond has been a British icon since Ian Fleming published Casino Royale in 1953.  Bond is always portrayed as a heroic loner.  But he depends on a backup team.  Q’s extraordinary gadgets – including the visionary message-carrying digital watch from The Spy Who Loved Me. M provides the  political cover to operate.  Miss Moneypenny’s peerless organisation skills.  And a whole team of people providing intelligence and logistical support, sometimes even entire ships’ crews. 

Some of the Bond plots, as with the messaging watch, have been remarkably prescient. Okay, none of them foresaw food and petrol shortages, but then neither did Mr Johnson’s government.

In Quantum of Solace, there’s no moonbase or “laser” superweapon.  The CIA are involved in regime change and the villains are manipulating utility prices by monopolising the access to water.  Take out the stunts, and it’s a documentary.  Which makes me wonder – is the chaos of an unregulated market economy causing the latest gas price hikes, or is Blofeld behind it? 

Bond villains always have grandiose plans that never work.  Often involving improbable construction projects like a bridge to Northern Ireland or airbase in the middle of a river estuary.  They treat their underlings with contempt, and make long speeches instead of taking action, in denial that the world is falling into chaos around them…

Bond doesn’t faff about, laughing maniacally. He just gets the job done.  As I often say, done is better than perfect. 

What would solve our current problems better than Bond’s actions? A high-wage economy, that’s what. Anyone who wants to take over the world would be better deployed making it a better place.

However we view the problem, the solution is the same.  We need the people in the North East to have a higher real income.  That means generating – and retaining – more wealth in our region.  I’m talking about full employment in secure jobs, paying decent wages.  This requires and supports a better transport system, higher levels of skills and education, healthier lifestyles, and affordable, secure homes. 

It requires an economic model where there’s a job for everyone who wants one, and where wages are high enough to live a life of contentment.  That includes sectors traditionally regarded as low-paid, including social care, hospitality, distribution and retail workers.  We must focus on improving the foundational economy with as much energy as the high-productivity sectors of digital and manufacturing.  This means providing more skills training and professionalisation, so the workforce becomes more valued and better paid, resulting in lower staff turnover and higher productivity.

We’re succeeding, but not quickly enough to close the gap any time soon.  I was elected just two years ago, and already the North of Tyne has attracted global firms that practice what they preach, training and developing workers to have careers, not just jobs.  We’re creating jobs in key sectors of offshore renewables, clean energy technology, zero-carbon automotive, digital, and healthy ageing and life sciences.  We have programmes supporting small- and medium-sized businesses by the hundred, investing in innovation, digital adoption and job creation.  We’re supporting freelancers in the culture and creative sectors. 

This new economic model for the North East must be built on a green economy.  Financial security need not consume more of the Earth’s resources or emit more greenhouse gasses.  Our wealth can be spent on art, leisure, entertainment, PassivHaus homes and transport with ultra-low emissions.  We can build a wellbeing economy.  Like Bond, let’s just get the job done.  

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 11 Oct 2021

Beyond the headlines in Brighton

It’s two years since I started writing this column in The Journal and The Chronicle.  In that time we’ve had a general election, a global pandemic, a change in Labour leader, and Britain has left the EU. 

Then, as now, I’d just returned from Labour Conference in Brighton.  And then, as now, the reality is different from the TV clips. 

The Conference Hall that you see on TV is the nexus of the conference.  There’s motions, and rule change debates, and the big speeches from the main stage.  The Party managers are concerned about the headlines, of course, and how the leader’s speech gets reported. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  The conference centre holds dozens and dozens of exhibition stands.  Trade Unions, think tanks, charities, businesses and journalists.  It’s fascinating to see the TV and radio stations.  They really do create pop up studios.  It’s hard to walk far without appearing in someone’s shot. 

For every news headline, there’s two dozen fringe events spread across Brighton, a hundred private meetings huddled around tables in hotel bars, and politicians and advisors scurrying around finishing speeches on a just-in-time basis.  I became very familiar with the venue security check and bag search.    

I arrived on Sunday evening.  A few meetings and catching up with people I hadn’t seen in person for two years, before a back-to-back couple of days, with meetings from 8am to late.  Conference is the only time it is acceptable to propose a 10pm meeting!  

On Monday morning I bumped into Andy McDonald at breakfast.  As a North East MP, we’ve got to know each other over the years.  We discussed his New Deal for Working People.  It’s a great piece of work that lays out in detail how we change employment law to benefit Britain’s 31 million working people, and still enable good employers to thrive.  It includes a proposal for everyone to be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay.    

Later that day, Andy resigned – unhappy at being told to argue against proposals he was advocating.  Ambitions and headline policies are one thing, but any credible government has to know how to deliver the detail.  Andy will be a loss to the Labour front bench. 

My first meeting was an interview with the Financial Times – how do we level up places like the North East?  My answer – generate more wealth here.  That means investment.  We’re creating thousands of good green jobs at the North of Tyne.  But with more financial tools, we can really start to eradicate unemployment and poverty wages. 

Then off to a fringe at The World Transformed on Community Wealth Building.  On the panel were three other Labour politicians in power, who are also creating jobs, keeping money in their local economies, and tackling economic inequality.  I spoke about “guerrilla economics” – how it is possible (just) to make a local difference even when Government starves our regions of funding.  Most encouraging was a well informed audience of Labour people in local government making a difference. 

Then a series of meetings with Union General Secretaries, and the new Director General of the CBI.  Conference is an efficient opportunity to meet lots of people one after the other.  Zoom has its uses, but it’s not the same as face-to-face meetings. 

More panels – Community Wealth Building with shadow ministers, Tackling Regional Economic Inequalities with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.  And a fascinating panel with Andy Burnham and John McDonnell on a fairer taxation model to replace Council Tax. 

In between were media interviews.  Cross questions on LBC in a makeshift studio discussing the topical issues including Andy’s resignation (sad), party unity (essential) and the fuel crisis (totally avoidable).  My favourite question was from Tyne Tees TV’s Tom Sheldrick: should Labour conference be held in Newcastle.  An enthusiastic “Yes”. 

Lastly I met up with fellow Metro Mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham for a couple of hours (in the bar) and later Sadiq Khan joined us.  Then some late night and early morning Combined Authority business from my hotel room on the overburdened hotel Wi-Fi.

All before heading off on Tuesday evening to Manchester, for the Transport for the North meeting on Wednesday morning. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 04 Oct 2021

The backbone of our economy

Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy. Plumbers, hairdressers and beauticians, charity workers, arts professionals and creatives. In the North East they represent around half a million jobs.  In fact, 95% of businesses in our region are micro-businesses, employing ten people or fewer.  And, sadly, small firms often struggle to get the financial backing they need. 

The pandemic has been tough on them.  Excluded UK represents a whopping 3 million limited companies, sole traders and freelancers left out in the cold by Government and the Treasury.  Locally, the North of Tyne put £5 million into giving a lifeline to some of the most vulnerable, but we were only able to scratch the surface.  Soon, firms will face the combined effects of their VAT deferments falling due, furlough coming to and, Bounce Back Loan payments kicking in, and a host of other temporary support measures all ending within months.  Add in recent National Insurance hikes, and many small firms fear for next year. 

Small businesses often trade with each other.  If a customer goes bust, and doesn’t pay their invoices, there’s a risk of a domino effect.  I’ve suggested to the CBI and others that Government develop a scheme to prevent this.  They’d need to crunch the numbers, but the concept is simple.  If you’ve fulfilled a contract, but your customer goes bust for Covid-related reasons, Government should step in and pay a substantial part of the invoice. 

It’s not dissimilar in concept to insolvency support that workers get.  If your employer goes bust, you can apply to the Government for your outstanding pay and unpaid redundancy money.  So many people are now self-employed one way or another, they need this protection.  I hope this becomes Government policy.   

Even before Covid, though, small businesses faced an uphill playing field against big business.  Access to finance is difficult.  For a bank loan, you typically have to risk your family home as collateral – if you have one.  Even amongst people aged 35-44, only 50% of people are homeowners.  Working class people of any age with good business ideas find it hard to raise the cash to start a business.    

Too often when funding is available, it extracts wealth from our local economy. Loans have to be paid back of course, with interest.  If it’s from hedge funds, or commercial banks, this sucks out wealth to pay shareholders’ dividends and profits.  This rarely feeds back into the local economy.  More likely it gets funnelled through tax havens. 

Last week at the North of Tyne cabinet, we agreed a package of access to finance measures to address this.  Backed by £15 million over five years from our Investment Fund, it will boost small business growth.  It will give people of ordinary means a chance to become their own boss.  And it will recycle local capital, keeping wealth in our region.  

It’s got the heft required to make a real difference. There’s £10 million in the package for equity investment – a challenge the North East faces.  Although we account for 2.3% of the UK economy, only 1.4% of the total UK private equity and venture capital is invested here.  By having a fund to directly invest in small, local firms, start-ups and scale-ups, we can accelerate the economic recovery.  As the fund grows, the money will be recycled, supporting more local firms, and creating more jobs here. 

For cooperatives, and businesses trading with a social purpose, it’s even harder.  Investors expect a vote in your business, and the legal structure of worker-owned or community-owned businesses often prevents that.  So we’ve made £4 million available to directly invest in these businesses, as a source of patient capital to help them grow. 

We’ll underpin these funds with strong ethical values.  I was presenting an award at the North East Business awards on Thursday.  It’s heartening to see how many local firms really want to look after their employees.  How many take real steps to give something back to their communities.  And how many take their environmental responsibilities seriously.

This is a win-win approach.  The investment will pay for itself and do much social good along the way.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 27 Sept 2021

Valuing the arts

Setting aside the Damien Hirsts of this world, most artists don’t take up their craft with the expectation of a private jet and a villa in Tuscany. They do it to satisfy an artistic drive – it’s part of who they are.

‘Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up’. That’s Pablo Picasso. The artists at the Lime Street Studios in the Ouseburn Valley would agree with him.

They agree, too, that the arts and the economy are inextricably linked.

The Government seems to think the arts has little importance.  Why else would they be drastically cutting arts education in schools, colleges and universities?  It’s a false economy.  The arts not only enrich our lives, it employs over 137,000 people.   

I visited the artists at the Lime Street Studios recently.  It’s sandwiched between The Cluny and Seven Stories on the Ouseburn Valley.  I asked them what they needed to keep their artistic businesses vibrant.  

They all have a ‘portfolio’ of ways to make a living.  Selling artworks, taking commissions.  A bit of teaching.  Community art projects, music gigs and music therapy sessions.  Putting on exhibitions.  And art therapy work in hospitals, particularly for those with mental health problems.

Covid, of course, completely pulled the rug out from under all of this.  The artists have shown their resilience, and adapted.  But many of the areas and people that needed the arts most have been hardest hit. 

We talked about the value of art in education.  How it produces more rounded individuals who have insights into other aspects of life that you don’t always get if you only study science or maths. That’s what the arts give you – it’s not only about becoming an artist or a musician – it’s about having a wider personal scope.

The future is going to be all about adaptability.  My kids are good at science and maths – but unlike me, they’re also good at music and fine art.  It will serve them well in a changing world. 

I asked what their economic barriers were. They told me there was a need for more buildings like the Studios.  The need for accessibility and affordable rents.  How artists need the confidence that they can build up their businesses and community networks without the worry of being moved on.  And how these spaces are needed across the region, not just in Newcastle.

They need broadband in the whole building, so they can continue the online work they’ve been able to offer during lockdown.  Which brings us back to diversity again. People with disabilities and mental health issues have had unprecedented access to the arts online.  The Studio artists were very keen to make sure that wasn’t withdrawn.

They stressed the importance of having a space like the Lime Street Studios, but they need investment.  Although they each run their own businesses, the Studio premises is run as a cooperative.  All of the artists in the old bonded warehouse are part of its collective management, and make their own decisions about how to manage the space.  But co-operatives find it difficult to attract investment.

That’s where the Combined Authority comes in.

Our Cultural and Creative Investment programme provides steppingstones to support organisations to emerge from COVID on a more resilient, and sustainable, footing.  Every business’s finance needs are different.  That why our £2.625 million fund has numerous finance options.  Small grants up to £5,000 each.  Loans of around £50,000k to £150,000 at interest rates from 0% to 10%.  And equity investment of up to £75,000.

There’s a separate offer for freelancers to help develop commercial skills such as protecting their intellectual property or developing their brand.   We’re working in partnership with Creative England on the fund – have a look at what we’re offering at www.creativeengland.co.uk/northoftyne

The Studio artists told me how important it was to be able to access funding like this, without the strings or reams of paperwork.  

Economic development has to be low-carbon and inclusive, so everyone benefits from it.  It also has to be enriching.  We need a culture of valuing the arts for their own sake.

And the Combined Authority’s here to help with that.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 20 Sept 2021

This Is Our Run

You’re prepping for the race.  Questions racing through your mind.  Am I wearing the right clothes? Have I done enough groundwork?  Am I in the right frame of mind?  Months of preparation comes down to this moment.  I know the supporters will keep me going. 

You’re on the starting line…

This could be the start of the Great North Run.  It’s also a good description of the Mayoral election in 2019.  In between we’ve had Covid.  It scuppered the GNR in 2019.  This year, Covid uncertainty made sponsors nervous.  Spacing runners into waves added complexity and cost. 

On 28th June 1981, the first Great North Run took place. It was a trailblazer. I was 11.  Life in the North East was a bit different then. Come to think of it, life in the whole country was a bit different then. We even won the Eurovision Song Contest.  With 40 years of history, we could not risk it failing. 

I first spoke to Brendan Foster about it back in February.  The GNR is the biggest half-marathon in the world.  Over 50,000 runners.  The North of Tyne Combined Authority put £400,000 funding to keep the GNR secure. 

It’s worth £33 million in economic benefit to the region.  It puts us on the map.  It fills 25,000 hotel bedrooms.  £24 million raised for charity. 

It’s a massive regional success story broadcast live in 137 countries around the world.  We sponsored the film, Great North: A Run, A River, A Region which opened at the Tyneside last week.  It’s on local cinemas – and well worth a watch. 

There’s more to the GNR than numbers, though.  Brendan persuaded me to run this year.  My training was going well, until I got a calf strain a fortnight ago.  My physio has been brilliant – shout out to Jack Gilmour.  “You’re obviously going to run,” he said, “so let’s work out how we can get you round.  But forget any hope of a personal best.” 

Dashing around at the start.  I started the elite women’s race.  My friend, Lord Mayor Habib Rahman, started the wheelchair race.  Best of all was the main race was started by NHS workers: I chatted to Community Nurse Dorothy and Cardiologist Micky, who like me were also running. 

I’ve done long runs before, marathons and half-marathons.  But nothing is like the Great North Run.  It’s the sheer diversity.  The awesome ability of the wheelchair athletes.  The bravery of the blind and visually impaired athletes. 

Before I even got to the Tyne Bridge, my calf-tightened.  We knew it might, and had a plan.  I slowed right down to a jog.  It was a blessing in disguise – I got to pay attention to everyone else. 

The sheer selflessness of thousands of people – doing something so physically gruelling – without any interest in personal reward.  Cancer Research.  Breast Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Blood Cancer.  St Oswalds Hospice.  McMillan Nurses. Shelter.  Strokes.  NSPCC.  Mental Health.  Help For Heroes.  British Legion.  Every one of them about healing and helping.  I was running for veterans’ charity Forward Assist.  Apologies to all those I haven’t got space to mention.

Countless people running in memory of loved ones.  Personal stories about healing the grief. 

At mile 9 I had to pop into the first aid tent for some Vaseline.  I hadn’t had a chance to break in my new top, and jogger’s nipple struck – blood soaking through the white fabric like a pair of brake lights. 

I watched the strength and compassion of all those tens of thousands of people.  The runners.  The volunteers.  The supporters.  All the kids I high-fived on the way round.   I’m proud to come from the North East.  That pride – that support – that sheer generosity of spirit – got me round and across the finish line.   

Along the Felling bypass I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  A fellow runner ran past me, pressed a £20 not into my hand, and said, “Good man – good cause.” 

We’ve had a hell of an eighteen months.  We’ve come through Covid.  So many have experienced tragedy.  When we come together in unity, we are strong. 

This is our Region.  This is our Run.  Let the healing begin. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 13 Sept 2021

Showing off our region

We’re at least 280 miles from London.  It’s a long way however you travel.  3 hours by train, 6 hours by car and 27 hours by bike.  But we’re even further in terms of media focus.  The Westminster Bubble is obsessed with political manoeuvrings in Westminster.  Try and get them to cover the creation of thousands of jobs in the North of Tyne, and they’re not interested. 

I guess that cuts both ways.  The impression of London from here can be skewed.  Many see it as a place of opportunity – career advancement, global HQs, the hub of media, arts and culture.  The reality also includes extortionate rents and long commutes. 

On Thursday I had a chance to correct the imbalance.  I showed Adrian Wooldridge, The Economist’s political editor around the North of Tyne.  He was keen to get out of the Westminster bubble. 

I love showing off our region.  Our beautiful coastline, fascinating history, and vibrant culture.  But most of all I love the stories of the people.  We are resilient, entrepreneurial, and passionate.  Too many lack opportunity, though.  We need jobs.  My role as Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority is to fix that.  Removing the barriers that stop people flourishing. 

I took him to visit the Cedarwood Trust in the Meadow Well.  Run by Wayne Dobson and Alison Cunningham, it’s a charity and community centre.  There’s a food club – not a food bank – that sells low cost food.  And with funding from the North of Tyne, they help adult learners get the skills to earn a decent living.  Retraining people on their terms, building confidence and self-esteem.  Our visitor from London was struck by way people’s dignity was a priority. 

Next, we visited Phil Souter & colleagues at Proctor & Gamble’s Advanced Circular Economy Project in Benton.  It’s a partnership with the North of Tyne, P&G, universities and local firms, developing cleaning products that use less heat and water.  Last year Rhona, the R&D Vice President pitched it to me.  She was really up-front, and told me her colleagues had said, “Don’t waste your time.  Nothing happens for years if you talk to government.”  Well, within months the project was up and running, creating high-paying high-tech jobs.  That’s the strength of devolving power out of London, to regional Mayors. 

We visited BritishVolt.  Company Chairman, Peter Rolton, and his colleague Charlotte, drove us round the site.  It is monumental in every way.  Size.  Jobs.  Scale of ambition.  And social and environmental responsibility.  We’re working with BritishVolt to provide the training opportunities to make sure those 3000 jobs go to local people. 

Next to Transmission Dynamics in Cramlington.  They use both human and artificial intelligence to solve complex engineering problems.  Like smart bolts which fit on offshore wind turbines.  It used to be that an engineer would have to sail out to the turbines to check all the bolts were within tolerances.  With the smart bolts this can be monitored from land.  It’s cheaper and saves time and fuel.  Adrian asked development director Jenny Hudson what difference it made having a Mayor.  “There’s someone to focus investment on our region’s strength – offshore renewables.  It means businesses like ours can grow”.  We spoke about the Catapult, our offshore wind projects, and how clean energy will replace our coal-dependent past. 

Our last visit was to Verisure, a global security firm now based near Longbenton.  Kevin Croft was one of the directors I met when we persuaded them to set up here.  “Why did you come here rather than London?” Adrian asked him.  “The people are friendlier.  It’s really true.  And loyal – we want long term development of our staff.  Plus I could by a four bedroom house with a garden for two-thirds the price of my 2 bedroom flat in London.” 

Adrian had never looked round our region in depth before.  He knew it wasn’t all whippets and flat caps, but he wasn’t expecting to see such innovation and potential. 

I explained my vision.  A well-paid job for everyone who wants one, with us as the powerhouse of the new, green economy.  I asked him if he thought I would achieve my vision.  “Yes,” he said.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 06 Sept 2021

Nurturing our communities with goodwill & solidarity

I love getting out and about and meeting people.  Last Monday I met trade minister Lord Grimstone for dinner.  We discussed getting more Government support to bring investment here.  On Wednesday I met the Vice President and the European Ops director of a US firm over coffee.  The meeting was a success, and fingers crossed, they’ll be creating 150 new jobs in the North of Tyne.  Efficient though Zoom may be, there’s no substitute for an in-person meeting. 

Shifting from international to local, I spent part of Monday visiting community enterprises in Newcastle’s West End.  The invitation came from Mayor Habib Rahman.  When I was councillor for Monument Ward in the City Centre, our wards were adjacent, and we worked together on several issues.  Habib is Newcastle’s first ever civic leader from the BAME community.  This is a big deal not only locally but also back in Bangladesh where Habib’s parents hail from.

We both have the title Mayor, but the roles are different.  As Mayor of a combined authority I might be the one with the budget and can pull a few more levers, but Mayor Rahman has got the swankier office by far. Not to mention the bling.

Our first stop was Elswick Pool.  I used to swim there decades ago.  You’ll remember that in 2010 the coalition Government had a political decision to make.  They chose to cut public services, triple tuition fees, and let keyworkers’ wages fall.  In return, they pumped hundreds of billions of pounds into increasing financial assets like the FTSE index and commercial property.  And David Cameron said we were all in it together. 

Locally, Elswick Pool got the chop.  Kids missed out on swimming lessons.  Adults missed out on fitness.  The community lost a vital hub.  And the workers lost their jobs. 

Local people got organised.  They campaigned, and set up a charity.  They learned from Jesmond Pool.  Diane, a leading campaigner is now on the management board of a thriving social enterprise, owned by its community.  It’s a labour of love, she told me.  It employs nine members of staff and supports twenty six part time roles such as swimming coaches.  Twenty schools now have swimming lessons there.  There are dedicated sessions for women to swim, and hydrotherapy for people with disabilities.  The pool’s manager, Phil, described how it’s now a buzzing community hub, helping people get fitter and lose weight. 

Next stop was the Millin Charity, in the Beacon Centre – the old fire station on the West Road.  Run by Shewley and Kirsty, it helps women establish businesses.  (And Sarah, who’s on maternity leave).  For twenty years now they’ve built up trust and contacts throughout their community.  Women from all backgrounds can just drop in or pick up the phone.  They run sessions on business planning, financial advice, and the legal hurdles of being in business.  We spoke about how it can scaled up.  How it was that they’d been able to change the way these women see themselves, and find confidence to transform their lives. 

And it works.  Every year, they work with around 200 women.  On average this results in 30 women setting up a business or becoming self-employed.  Everything from cake or dress making, to business support services.  A further 20 find employment.  45 more go on to further training and education. 

The stories of Elswick Pool and the Millin Charity share something with the US investors I met.  They are about entrepreneurship.  With no reliable funding, with no rich backers, both social enterprises are creating jobs out of nothing more than goodwill and solidarity.  And making people’s lives better in the process. 

The democratic socialism that I believe in is massively entrepreneurial. It’s also about levelling the playing field.  The difference is it’s about making sure that central Government doesn’t tilt the table in favour the corporations with lobbyists on big bucks.  Or hand out contracts to people you went to Eton with. 

When we nurture the people in our communities, they step up and succeed.  That’s why we’re bringing forward a plan to back social enterprises, here in the North of Tyne. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 30 August 2021

Storytelling defines a culture

I get a buzz from seeing talented people do their thing.  Whether it’s sport, comedy or plays.  I’m endlessly impressed watching the skills that have been honed over thousands of hours.  And the joy and passion at performers’ self-expression.  I love seeing people learning their trade, too.  Supporting up and coming talent. 

Edinburgh Fringe has all that in spades.  It’s the tapas of live entertainment.  Lots of little portions which add up make a satisfying meal.  We also ate actual tapas!  I’ve spent the last few days there with my family, and am writing my column on the train back. 

Nelson, my younger son, is learning the guitar.  His choice was “When Judas Met John.”  Two brothers performing and comparing the songs of Bob Dylan and John Lennon.  The lad’s got good taste – I raised him well!  The similarity between Norwegian Wood and 4th Time Around is obvious.

Now fifteen, my older son Leon liked Stand Up Philosophy.  Philosophy teacher turned comedian Alex Farrow hosts stand-ups, and the audience quiz them on their material.  Sitting in the front row, I got asked my occupation.  I always answer questions honestly, “I’m a politician.”  Groans and jeers from the audience.  “What kind of politician?”  “A socialist politician.”  That got a more positive response.  “What’s your name?”  Someone in the Edinburgh audience had heard of me, and I got a whoop. 

This led to banter between the comedians on the nature of democracy, online radicalisation, and a heckle from someone.  “Democracy will never work in the West.  95% of the wealth is owned by 5% of the people.” 

“If only,” said Alex, “there was a political philosophy that tackles wealth inequality,” gesturing to me, and taking the session full circle.  You can’t beat live entertainment.  

The act that will stick with me is Paddy The Cope.  A first-person storytelling of working class hero Patrick Gallagher, founder of the co-op in Donegal.  Accompanied by a fiddler, it took us on the journey of shale mining, love lost and found, oppression by the usury merchants, and the way a community fought back to gain some measure of economic democracy. 

Storytelling defines a culture.  I’ve heard it said that Scots and Welsh devolution is more advanced because of a stronger cultural identity.  Perhaps it’s time we invested in telling our stories of the North East, old and new. 

The Netflix model is to get the whole world seeing the same shows.  But the local variety is what gives entertainment its richness and allows youngsters to imagine what they are capable of.  Don’t get me wrong – there’s some good stuff on Netflix.  But the money we pay Netflix or Sky leaves our region. 

The Fringe shows the power of having a cultural centre to a city’s calendar.  It’s a staging post for launching other activity.  It attracts talented performers.  It makes this a better place to live.  It’s about the most cost-effective advert a city or region can have.    

We don’t want to cut and paste.  What works for Edinburgh might not work for us.  We have a solid base to build on.  Just the week before, we watched the Handlebards perform Macbeth in the grounds of Hexham Abbey.  In the rain.  The Stand Comedy Club is hosting live gigs again.  And I hope to support the Newcastle Improv Festival in coming years. 

This is the focus of our Culture, Creativity and Tourism work.  It’s not just about staging one-off events.  It’s about investing in the content creators and supply chain companies.  Performers and writers, yes.  And everything from make-up artists to lighting riggers.  Jobs people really want to do.  No alienation of labour here.  Providing a support network for creatives to grow sustainably and still be around in 10 years’ time. 

The gig-economy gets its name from the culture and creative industry.  The risk puts many people off following their passion.  Especially kids from working-class backgrounds, who can’t rely on financial support from parents.  Predictable work is the bedrock of flourishing creative and cultural industries.  Any industry in fact!

Hopefully in the not too distant future when asked where best to go for live entertainment, people will say “right here in the North East”.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 23 August 2021

A Solid Investment in Good Work

Much of the work trade unions do is hidden and unsung.  Such as providing workplace learning opportunities through the Union Learn programme. The view of trade unions as “the enemy within” and wreckers of the economy is obsolete.  It’s a far cry from the reality.  When employers work with trade unions, whether in the public or private sector, it’s a constructive partnership. 

Little known to the general public, since 1998 the trade unions have built a network of 40,000 volunteer Union Learning Reps (ULRs).  It’s a national scheme, with public funding.  Workplace reps talk workers through opportunities for training and adult education courses.  Too often, people don’t realise they have unfulfilled potential.  Or just aren’t aware of the possibilities on offer.  Sometimes they think their boss won’t support them to skill-up. 

The Union Learning Reps help overcome all these problems.  Because they’re in the workplace, known and trusted by co-workers, the ULRs can help some of those hardest to reach.  People in “left behind” places and unglamorous jobs have transformed their working lives.  Over the past 23 years the ULRs guided over 200,000 workers to gain qualifications in English, maths and IT skills.  Often their first ever qualification.  It put them on the path to further learning and on a route to a better paid career. 

ULRs are volunteers.  That network of 40,000 reps helping their co-workers depends on the back-up of full-time support workers.  In March this year, Government axed the funding.  Union Learn was to end.  The volunteers abandoned, the scheme binned.  It was a crass decision, even by the standards we’ve seen.  And short-sighted.  Recovery from Covid requires a skilled workforce.

But it’s not my style to idly fulminate at the Government.  Rather than shout from the sidelines, I used my remit as Mayor to make Union Learn even better and transform it for the post-Covid era.

In the North of Tyne, 18% of our residents hold low or no qualifications.  Trapped in low paid roles and denied opportunities for progression.  It’s no accident, then, that 23% of our working population earn less than the Real Living Wage. 

Union Learn isn’t just about the workers. Employers benefit.  Better trained staff are more and productive.  The economy benefits.  Greater tax receipts and national insurance contributions.  A higher skilled workforce supports more productive businesses.  Research from the University of Exeter showed that £1 invested in Union Learn creates £12.87 economic benefit.  A win-win all round. 

So although most of the country will be losing Union Learn, last week I launched our initial two-year replacement.   We’ve partnered with the Northern TUC and our local authority colleagues. Backed by £430,000 from our Investment Fund, the TUC-administered project will employ a regional Union Learn coordinator and three full-time Union Learn reps.  This is stronger than before.  They’ll work with employers in our key sectors to champion opportunities for workplace learning.  They’ll pilot new ways to help more workers skill-up, in a wider range of workplaces. It will transform more lives.

I value the role our trade unions play in creating a fairer and greener economy.  I’ve worked with them since becoming Mayor. I have trade union representation on our advisory boards and regular dialogue through our forum with regional union secretaries. We’re working with the teaching unions to set up a cooperative supply agency to combat zero-hours working. And for accreditation to the advanced level of our Good Work Pledge, employers need to have a trade union recognition agreement in place.  Unionised workplaces are more productive, safer, and have lower staff turnover. 

Our Union Learn Project exemplifies what we can achieve through collaboration.  It’s a solid investment in good work and building a fairer economy.  Best of all, it’ll make a concrete difference to low-paid workers’ lives.  Building confidence and putting money in their pockets.

It’s also an example of how agile the North of Tyne Combined Authority is.  Rather than distant targets or “aspirations”, we’ve fixed a problem within a few months.  That’s why I went into politics.  We’ve created a tangible outcome to improve people’s lives in the here and now.  It’s what I’m here to do, just like our ethical businesses, and just like our trade unions. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 16 August 2021

The Sky’s the limit

Allan Wells. Anthony Joshua. Linford Christie. Chris Boardman. Nicola Adams. Pythagoras. Eliud Kipchoge. Haile Gebrselassie. Nadia Comaneci.

All Olympic champions. 

No, that’s not a mistake, although it’s true that you’re more likely to associate Pythagoras with triangles, rather than the Olympics.

Pythagoras didn’t win an Olympic crown for doing difficult sums. He won for boxing.  And, at the time – 588 BCE – there were no weight classes, only a boys’ category and a men’s. So you had no idea how enormous, or strong, your opponent might be.

It was a huge honour to be selected to represent your city-state or small kingdom. There were no cash prizes, and no medals. If you won, you were awarded a crown made of leaves – probably bay or basil. There was nothing for the athletes who came second or third. You might have had a statue erected, and be given money by your hometown when you returned triumphant. But at Olympia, you competed for the glory of being an Olympian. If you were a free man, that is. Women weren’t allowed to compete.  Or even to watch – athletes competed barefoot and naked. 

Thank heaven that’s changed. It was great to watch the mixed triathlon at the Tokyo Games – and even better to watch Team GB get the gold.  The relay changeover part, where they run and dive into the water, looked so much fun – I’d love to have a go at that.  But I’ll leave the high-speed dismount and run with the bike to the Olympians.  And if you haven’t seen Charlotte Worthington’s BMX freestyle run, do yourself a favour and watch it on YouTube:

For the vast majority of us, we experience sport by watching it.  Often glass, or can, in hand, and with snacks on the side. We don’t take part. Except in cheering.

And yet, immediately after Wimbledon, there are more kids on the tennis courts. After athletics competitions, there are more people running.

We need to use the power of the Olympics, and other sporting events, not just to get people interested in watching, but to get them taking part.

You can pretty much guarantee that Sky Brown, the 13 year old skateboarding Olympian, will inspire a new generation of young skateboarders. But how easy will they find it to get to a usable skatepark? Or one that they can afford?

Sky Brown competing in the Tokyo Olympics

We need grassroots access to all sports.  So people aren’t put off either by price, distance – including decent public transport and secure bike parking – and the funding of equipment and grassroots clubs.  Too much open space is being built on.  Too many school fields sold to fund education.  Too many sport centres and swimming pools closed by austerity. 

I want to do something about that.

Working with one of those Olympic greats, Sir Brendan Foster, there are already plans afoot for a Great North Festival of Sport.  The aim is to increase daily exercise levels for ordinary people and getting them to participate in sports of all kinds. This isn’t for elite athletes. This is for you and me.  

The Combined Authority is also working on a year-round events programme of high-quality cultural and sporting events capable of achieving regional, national, and international profiles.

I taught jiu jitsu for decades – I’m a black belt myself.  One of the most rewarding aspects was watching people start to see themselves differently, and realise the inner strength that they never knew they had.  That’s what sport can do for us.

Back to Sir Brendan.  I’ve agreed (for which read ‘was talked into it by Brendan’) to put my money where my running shoes are and run the Great North Run on Sunday 12th September. I’m fundraising for a fantastic charity, Forward Assist, www.forward-assist.com.  Based in the North East, they help veterans across the country transition from military service into civilian life.  Everything from accessing health services to setting up businesses. 

British swimmer Adam Peaty said at the Olympics recently: ‘It’s a fun event and that’s what sport needs. It needs to be fun.’ I imagine after these Games there’ll be a lot of young people thinking that the Sky’s the limit.  How right they are!

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 09 August 2021

It’s about jobs, stupid

What does “levelling-up” mean to you?  Getting more investment into the North of England?  Closing the life-expectancy gap, perhaps?  Reversing the historic under-funding of the North’s transport infrastructure? 

I’d hoped the Prime Minister’s much-trailed speech on levelling-up would define it.  His 32-minute speech, his “Vision to Level up the United Kingdom”, covered everything from football pitches to bus stops, via a detour into chewing gum on pavements.  At one point he said if anyone can think of a better idea, send me an email.  I imagined his speech writers face-palming in the wings. 

The commentariat were scathing.  An “everything and nothing policy” according to the chair of Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee. 

Back in October 2020 I gave evidence to that Parliamentary committee. I talked about the need for Government clarity on levelling-up.  How it would be put in to practice in regions such as ours. I spoke of the need to give the North control over our own wealth creation.  The powers to turbocharge our ability to create good jobs. Nearly a year down the line and the Government’s levelling-up plans remain as opaque as ever.

Levelling-up is a catch-all phrase designed for electioneering.  Mr Johnson keeps it deliberately vague – that way he can never fail to achieve it.  Come election time, he’ll claim it a success, regardless of the fact that all of the money earmarked for Northern Powerhouse Rail – to connect Northern cities – is being squandered on HS2.  It’s notable the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), due out last year, then January, then Easter, then in July, has been pushed back again.  It seems the IRP is Samuel Beckett’s much anticipated sequel to Waiting for Godot. 

Progressive patriotism is another vapid slogan.  It’s all about branding, I’m told.  We have to “position ourselves”.  You need to raise your profile.  I hear it all the time in political circles.  Well, if I’d wanted to repeat catch-phrases, I’d have become a game show host.  I became Mayor to fix things. 

And I love my job as Mayor.  Last week I signed off two more investments to create highly paid jobs in the software industry.  I’ll not steal the thunder of the companies’ own announcements and name them, but they’re 100 and 94 jobs respectively. 

I may have started the article criticising the PM’s speech, but so did many in his own party.  But once you’re in government, as I am, that means building partnerships to get things delivered.  The electorate expect us to work together to fix things. 

At Tuesday’s North of Tyne Cabinet for example, we agreed an allocation of £7 million to develop 5G and future connectivity programme. This positions us at the forefront of new technology investments.  Developing test facilities and business cases to secure even more high-tech jobs and facilitate lower-carbon living. 

At the same cabinet meeting we approved our Digital Development Cluster, to create 182 jobs, and the Talent Engine with Dynamo creating another 150.  We agreed funding of £1 million to support “Town and High Street” recovery innovation projects across our three local authorities.  

And we’re working with New Writing North to bring publishing houses to the disused buildings in Clayton Street in Newcastle.   These investments will bring new jobs in addition to the 4,193 jobs already in place or in the pipeline.

Job creation is an art – there’s lots of ingredients go into the recipe.  I’ve been working with BritishVolt since last year, along with our partners in Northumberland who’ve sorted the land deal.  Last Tuesday, they broke ground on the new electric-vehicle battery gigafactory.  That’s another 3000 jobs on top of the 4,193 already in the pipeline.  There’s another 5000 in the BritishVolt supply chain.  We’ll be working to develop the skills programme to bring those jobs here – which we can do, because the skills budget has been devolved to the North of Tyne.  Along with transport and digital infrastructure, investment in training and eduction is a key enabler of job creation.

So what does levelling-up mean to me?  If I can paraphrase Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, “It’s about jobs, stupid.”  Because that’s what levelling-up is all about: creating well paid, secure jobs, so everyone has a future. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 02 August 2021

Southgate’s teamwork shows the way

It’s difficult to type with your fingers crossed. But by the time you read this, we’ll know whether it worked, and football really has come home. I’m not claiming that it’ll all be down to my crossed fingers, mind.  Or even the now anthemic Sweet Caroline – my wife’s name. 

The key word for the England team is ‘team’.  Including the ever-impressive Gareth Southgate as its leader. To win – to get anywhere in a match or a tournament – they have to work as a team. One player thinking he’s the only man on the pitch is a recipe for disaster.

Teamwork duty has been a strong theme this past week, and not just in football.  Last Tuesday, Andy Burnham and I gave evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee, looking at English devolution and whether it’s working.  There’s a video link on my website, Facebook & Twitter if you’re interested. 

The British state lacks teamwork.  Projects that have to be delivered locally are still being designed centrally.  Diktats come from the centre, without flexibility of delivery.  Worse still, they are outsourced to firms that leave others to pick up the pieces when it goes wrong. 

Speaking to the Committee, it would have been easy to blame a Conservative government, or the attitude of Whitehall civil servants for the failures of the centralised test and trace, Kickstart, or the now-scrapped Green Homes Grant.  And yes, I’m no fan of this government or the London centric thinking of our national institutions.  But the problems are also structural. 

Every time I speak to a civil servant – from Treasury, Department of Transport, wherever – I find them professional, helpful, on top of their brief, capable of imagining new ways of doing things.  Yet handcuffed by a system that prevents them from doing anything innovative.  Their reporting lines are tortuous.  Sign-off is labyrinthine.  Their departments talk more to themselves than to outsiders. 

In the North of Tyne, we’ve smashed our job creation target, delivered devolved adult education, and implemented our brownfield housing programme.  Despite Covid, we’re ahead of target and brought them in under budget.  Why?  Because we know our region.  We listen to people on the ground.  We build relationships.  In other words, teamwork. 

We understand that everything is linked.  Transport affects housing and planning. It affects climate change – we want fewer cars, not more. It affects skills – you can’t go to college if there’s no bus to get you there.  It affects our economy. It affects our health – faster and cheaper public transport would get more people walking a little every day. 

I’ve been working with Ministers to get transport powers devolved.  We have an offer of half a billion quid on the table – the Intra City Transport Fund.  We’d have to come together as a region, North and South of the Tyne, into one Mayoral Combined Authority.  Not least because the Metro can’t be half-in and half-out of a devolved transport area. 

Our seven local authorities will have to make their own decisions about whether they want this money and these powers.  We already know we can work well together – we’ve been working on the response to Covid and on our economic recovery plans throughout the pandemic.

This time last year, I was asked by central Government to develop a plan. I brought in the south of the region, the Local Economic Partnership, the trade unions, business organisations and the Universities.  In September, we submitted a joint plan to the Comprehensive Spending Review.  I believe we should unite as a region, work together as a team, and land that plan, which will create 55,000 secure, full-time jobs.  And land that £half-billion devolved transport funding.

Ask any Mayor if they’d like more money, and of course we’d say yes. But what I really want is not more fish, but a fishing rod.  The power to generate more wealth here, for all of us.  So there’s a well paid job and lifelong training available for everyone. 

I’m on leave with my family for the next fortnight.  I’ve asked two groups I work closely with to be guest columnists.  Next week you’ll be hearing from Tyne and Wear Citizens, and the week after, from veterans’ charity Forward Assist. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 12 July 2021

Our people are the North’s true powerhouse

There’s a lack of trust between the people and power.

For decades, this has been reflected in Whitehall’s top-down approach to the North East and the other English regions.  Decisions on infrastructure to education to health are made by people without frontline experience, who don’t live here.  The result?  A huge imbalance of power, wealth and health across England.  GDP per capita in the North East is just 73% of the UK average, down from 93% in 1981.  Centralised decision making means less money in your pocket. 

A national one-size-fits-all policy affects our public services, our transport, our job prospects and even our life spans. It translates into us being top of every league table you don’t want to lead.  Lowest business density. Low productivity.  Child poverty up from a shocking 26% in 2014 to a harrowing 37% in 2020.  The 51 central government initiatives to restore regional growth since 1981 have been diktats from the top and haven’t worked.

We’ll only transform the fortunes of the North East by recognising our people are the North’s true powerhouse and our diversity is our strength. Having an elected mayor with devolved powers gives us the tools to do this.  Claiming it’s another tier of government is a lazy argument.  Evidence proves we’re fast, efficient and effective, creating jobs over target and under budget.  Taking the reins from Whitehall is the way to build a strong, vibrant and sustainable North East.  And it allows a new approach to democracy. One where people are trusted, their voices heard, where they shape public policy making in a meaningful way.

Collaboration underpins my whole approach. I’m working in partnership with everyone who has a stake in the North East.  Our three constituent local authorities.  The voluntary and community sector.  Businesses large and small.  And our trade unions.

Collaboration requires meaningful consultation with our citizens, too.  We’ve already delivered our Citizens Assembly on Climate Change.  And I’m putting this in to practice with forums such as the Mayor’s Question Time events.

My next one – the fourth so far – is this Wednesday, 7th July, at 6:30pm.  I’ll be talking about the good green jobs I’m creating in North of Tyne and how they are the bedrock for tackling poverty and protecting the planet.  Great if you can join me – and I promise it will end long before the England vs. Denmark semi-final kick-off at 8pm. 

Co-design doesn’t stop with getting government to listen to us.  It also means we listen to our people, including the North East voices that are often not heard.  Young people, people with disabilities and those experiencing poverty.  

I’ve led a culture inside the Combined Authority which believes things must be done with people, not to people.  It requires trust.  It requires a willingness to tune into what people are saying.  It means seeing marginalised people not as a burden but as resilient, capable and creative partners to solve their own problems.  A bit like how central Government should view us!

We’re putting £80,000 in to the North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission (PTC).  There’s £20,000 match funding from the Tyne and Wear and Northumberland Community Foundation. Too often, policy makers wring their hands about poverty, but make no effort to understand the actual, on-the-ground problems that trap people.  A PTC directly engages decision makers with the people experiencing poverty first-hand.  The result?  Practical measures that make a difference. 

Co-design also means trusting communities with resources. This Tuesday I’m launching our third Crowdfund North of Tyne.  That’s £200,000 from the Mayor’s Capacity Fund, for Zero-Carbon, Zero-Poverty projects. It’s a springboard for locally-led greening and food security initiatives. I’m empowering communities so they can directly tackle the climate emergency and food poverty where they live. This goes hand in hand with the work I’m doing to transition the North East to a zero-carbon economy via our £18 million Green New Deal and £25 million investment in offshore wind.

Trusting the regions and local communities with power and resources is the only way to level up. Along with my Metro Mayor colleagues across the North, I’m showing that when Westminster lets go of the reins so decisions are made here, we improve people’s lives.

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 5 July 2021

Building a Zero-Carbon, Zero-Poverty North East

Cooperation is what makes humans special.  Just look at the vaccine roll out.  The way we went from research and development, into production, into the public sector organisation getting jabs into people’s arms.  It also shows how vulnerable our economy is – our very lives are – when nature is disrupted and our environment becomes malevolent. 

I declared a climate emergency two years ago.  Then, Earth’s atmosphere had 414 parts per million of carbon dioxide.  Today it’s 419 parts per million.  To prevent catastrophic climate damage, and keep within the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees of global heating, the levels have to be kept below 430 part per million.  At the current rate, we’re going to break that limit in just over two years. 

“The Government must get real on delivery… Continue to be slow and timid and the opportunity will slip from our hands.” So says Lord Deben, chair of the independent, statutory Climate Change Committee, established by the 2008 Climate Change Act. 

Their report last week praised the government’s promises.  But was damning when it examined the evidence of delivering on them.  All bluster and no bite.  The policies don’t back up the rhetoric.  They are gambling everything on one report due out in the Autumn – the Net Zero Strategy.  It had better be good because Britain’s global credibility rests on it.  Not to mention our future.  And it had better be on time, before COP26 in November.

Last week was a big week for the North of Tyne Combined Authority.  We held our first Green Economy Summit, bringing partners from across the region together to shape our future.  Industry, research, public services, and universities were all involved. 

Covid and the climate crisis have caused us to rethink how our economy works.  It can no longer be about rising share prices or housing bubbles.  It’s about a secure future for everyone.  That’s how we take people with us.  We build a Zero-Carbon, Zero-Poverty North East. 

Our devolved skills programme is giving everyone a chance.  We fund vocational skills like getting an HGV license or technical skills that lead to high-paying jobs.  And we’ve put £2 million aside for those in high-carbon industries to retrain in clean energy and the jobs of the future. 

Our SpaceHive crowdfunder directly funds community groups to green their places and tackle food poverty.  Our Citizens Assembly on Climate Change has produced its recommendations which we’re already acting on.  Our Good Work Pledge underpins the thousands of jobs we’re creating.  It values the good employers in our region because they value the people who do the work. 

We need better connections into and out of our region.  We’re in a crazy situation where the East Coast Mainline is so constrained by its Victorian infrastructure that we can’t benefit from HS2 or Northern Powerhouse rail until we get the funding to reopen the Leamside line. 

To top it all, there is a planned timetable table change to go from two trains per hour to Manchester, down to one per hour.  It’ll reduce services to Morpeth and Berwick.  Reducing connectivity between northern towns and cities is the opposite of levelling up. 

I’ve pushed back hard.  At Wednesday’s Rail North Committee I managed to get agreement to halt the changes.  Now we need the Department for Transport to step in. 

Last Monday I spoke to the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps.  I made all these points.  You know what he said?  “Jamie, your nothing if not consistent.  You make that point every time we speak.” Well good, because it’s been too long since people listened to our region, and I’m going keep fighting our corner. 

And of course, we need to decarbonise our energy. 

We’re investing £25 million in our offshore wind and subsea sector.  Improving infrastructure, like stronger cranes to handle bigger turbines.  And we’re investing in minewater heating, to turn our high-carbon past into a low-carbon future. 

Our Green New Deal, our offshore wind investment, our high-tech start-up programmes, our partnership with BritishVolt, our reopening the Northumberland Line.  Creating over 4,000 jobs, and counting. 

The Combined Authority I lead is delivering on climate action and creating good green jobs, right now. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 28 June 2021

Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not

Talent was in the North East last week, along with Hollywood fever.  The latest Indiana Jones film is being shot at stunning Bamburgh Castle. It struck me that Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981.  I was 11. How time flies. I expect Harrison Ford is thinking that, though anyone who saw him cycling through Northumberland, in Lycra, would have guessed he’s 78 years old. But as Indie says in Raiders, “It’s not the years honey, it’s the mileage”. 

I’m not surprised they’ve chosen the North East as a location, though. For over a millennium, the North East has been a hotbed of creativity and ingenuity. If you’re not convinced, take a look at the Lindisfarne Gospels when we bring them to the Laing next year.  The electric light bulb was invented here.  And the train.  We powered the industrial revolution.  In 1878, the world’s first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside, Northumberland.  Harrison Ford is a climate activist – I wonder if he’ll visit while he’s here. 

It’s this ingenuity, and our reputation as friendly, hard-working people that will restore the North East’s economy.  That’s why as North of Tyne Mayor I’ve launched not one, but three separate funding streams to nurture talent and ingenuity. 

The North of Tyne Culture and Creative fund gives freelancers and small firms the money to make their ideas real.  £2.6 million is available as grants, loans and equity.  That’s backed with skills, advice and making connections to get your project off the ground.  If you’ve got a business idea in culture or the creative industries, check it out.  And tell your mates.  It’s on the North of Tyne website, www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/creative/

I’ve been crusading about climate change for years. And the Holy Grail of climate change is achieving net-zero. Where we emit less greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than nature removes.  Business is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.  And business can be part of the solution.  Any size business can innovate and help. 

The North of Tyne Recovery Innovation Fund is offering businesses £1.5m in grants and one-to-one support to turn ideas into reality.  You can get between £5,000 and £10,000.  To qualify, your innovation has to help either with climate change, creating jobs, or making our economy more inclusive.  Innovation doesn’t need to be complicated. It could be as simple as using different technology, or changing a business process. 

There’s two briefings coming up on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th June.  Register at ntca-innovationrecoverygrant.co.uk, and please spread the word.  Small firms are the engines of innovation. 

You don’t have to own a business to make the world a better place.  Identifying local talent means supporting local communities. Practical, inclusive, projects bring communities together.

The North of Tyne Crowdfunder has had two rounds of funding already.  Things like beekeeping on the Meadowell Estate in North Shields. Planting flowers to brighten up your streets. And community film-making.  Although probably not with the budget of Indiana Jones.  

It’s been so successful, we’re launching a third. 

It works like this.  You have an idea that will benefit your community. We’ll give you help and advice to explain it, with our partners Spacehive.  You build support in your local community – we can give you the tools to help.  And if people in your community like the idea, we’ll give you funding. 

It’s part of my manifesto commitment to tackle climate change and food poverty.  This round is called Zero-Carbon, Zero-Poverty.  This can be anything from setting up a community garden or allotment, a food club or community café, or your original idea.   Remember, shy bairns get nowt. If you’ve got an idea for improving life here, apply. Better still, get a group of mates and do it together. We’re launching the third round on Tuesday 6th July.  Have a look on our website for more information. www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/zero-carbon-zero-poverty/

I talk a lot about devolution.  About how our destiny should be in our hands.  And how decision making is better when it’s not centralised.  Well this is me putting it into action.  Directly giving the people of the North of Tyne a chance to nurture their talent, themselves. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 21 June 2021

A rich and vibrant regional economy in our sights

The words “Annual General Meeting” generally have the same effect as prescription sleeping pills.  Appointments to committees, scrutiny reports, and dozens of pages of accounts. 

But they are a keystone of democracy and accountability.  It shows the public, amongst other things, what we’ve spent.  The corporate budget is our running costs:  staff wages, office accommodation, IT spending, legal fees, that we spend delivering our targets. 

We’re smashing those targets out of the park.  We have a commitment to government to create 10,000 new, full-time jobs over 30 years.  It’s two years and one month since I was elected, so we should have 700 jobs in the pipeline.  The actual results? Across 66 live projects, we’ve leveraged in £193 million of extra money, we’re creating 4,193 jobs, and safeguarded another 2,673 jobs.  Over 10,000 people have had new training opportunities.  We’ve a whole catalogue of projects tackling climate change, helping communities, building homes, supporting local businesses and protecting vulnerable people in our region. 

At the same time our corporate running costs came in £599,000 under budget.  Given the disruption of the last fifteen months under the pandemic, that is a remarkable achievement.  I’m proud staff team we’ve built at the North of Tyne.  National government could only dream of being this effective and efficient. 

Yet you won’t see a headline anywhere that reads, “Mayor quietly exceeds his targets while coming in under budget.” Despite the fact that the vast majority of people want their politicians to do exactly that.  So if you could spread the word, I’d appreciate it. 

Instead politicians criticise England footballers for taking the knee.  Or Gareth Southgate’s open letter defining Englishness.  For what it’s worth, I agree with the England manager.  But like me, his tenure should, ultimately, be judged by results. 

So back to the excitement that was the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Annual General Meeting.  Since March 2020, the emergency Covid regulations have allowed us meet and take decisions online.  But in their wisdom, those who write the regulations coming out of Whitehall tell us we must now meet in person. 

Infection control procedures are still in place, and we lead by example, and maintaining the highest standards of public health.  Masks, distancing, hand sanitizer.  So it was still far from back to normal.  And quite right too – the Delta variant is highly transmissible.  As I said in my opening remarks at the AGM, please make sure you get both doses of your vaccine as soon as you’re eligible.  I had my second dose weeks ago. 

We rotate our meetings around the region.  So there we were, in a function suite in Newcastle Civic Centre, distanced so far apart that we needed microphones to talk to each other.  A warm welcome to new cabinet members Karen Kilgour from Newcastle, Carl Johnson from North Tyneside and Richard Wearmouth from Northumberland. 

Placing thanks on record to our outgoing cabinet members Joyce McCarty, Bruce Pickard and Richard Dodd.  Continuing our partnership with the North East LEP, represented by Lucy Winskell, and the voluntary sector, represented by Robin Fry. 

And agreeing our corporate plan for the next three years, strongly backed by our existing cabinet members, Norma Redfearn, Nick Forbes and Glen Sanderson, leaders of our three local authorities. 

Zero-Carbon, Zero-Poverty is our objective.  We’ve completed our Citizens Assembly on Climate Change, and our Green New Deal is motoring.  The best way to defeat poverty is to create thousands of good, green jobs – and we’re doing that in spades.  But at Tuesday’s AGM, we also agreed our Child Poverty Prevention Programme.  A series of initiatives to directly assist families who are struggling financially. 

That 22% of kids in the North East are in poverty is a moral outrage.  It’s also economically dysfunctional – we all benefit when bairns get a good start in life.  The irony is that over 70% of kids in poverty come from working households.  We need to make work pay. 

We’ll know the job’s done when our regional economy is so rich and vibrant that everyone can build a life here, and our young people don’t need to move away to pursue their dreams. 

AGM’s can be a compelling part of democracy after all. 

*Originally published in the Journal and Evening Chronicle 14 June 2021

Promoted by Richard Williams on behalf of Jamie Driscoll both at Labour North, Kings Manor, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6PA.