Mayoral moves
One event that will at least keep the project in the public eye is Manchester ’ s mayoral election due to be held in May 2017 . For many this will be a pivotal moment in the Northern Powerhouse project as the city chooses a figurehead to drive its devolution agenda .
Economic focus
The primary focus of devolution must be to boost economic growth given that the North has consistently underperformed against the national economy . But does the theory behind the Northern Powerhouse support economic growth ?
James Wharton , MP for Stockton and a former minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse , is one of those who believes it is a key moment . As he told a recent audience of business leaders in the city : “ The mayor will be an important figurehead . If I want to open a business in Manchester then I need to know who to speak to . The mayoral model is recognised the world over as a vehicle for engaging with government .”
But there are others who fear that the merits of the model , tried with varying amounts of success across England over the past 15 years , are debatable . For instance , some councils that introduced a mayoral system in 2002 have since scrapped it , while others such as Liverpool have embraced it .
One of the key issues is the actual power that any mayor can wield , and this is where the challenge is laid bare . Health , housing , schools and social care remain top priorities among the public , but in most cities these powers still rest with Whitehall .
However Manchester , which was granted control of its health and social care in April 2016 as part of a devolution deal , could be different . This has been shown by the interest of some political big-hitters in the future mayoral role such as Andy Burnham MP , who fought unsuccessfully for the Labour leadership last year , but is now his party ’ s candidate for Mayor .
Wharton admits that devolution is “ an ever progressing and evolving process ” but insists that Manchester is ahead of the game . “ This is an exciting opportunity partly because it is an organic process . It is not about me coming with an identikit stamp and saying this is what devolution should look like . This could be transformational but will only work if driven by those affected . This is ours to own and make a success .”
It is broadly based on the so-called ‘ agglomeration ’ theory that states that by better connecting cities and regions you will help drive economic growth . However the theory has plenty of critics , many of whom point to the fact that great cities only grow by trading with the rest of the country and the rest of the world .
Ed Cox , Director of IPPR , a Manchester-based think tank , says the drivers of regional economic growth are not just good transport infrastructure but also a strong skills base , innovation , and access to finance .
“ The success of the project should be judged against key criteria such as improving prosperity for all ”
He has previously described the Northern Powerhouse as a “ muddle ” of these four ideas and questions whether the project is just a proxy for proper regional economic policy . He says the success of the project should be judged against key criteria such as improving prosperity for all , raising the attainment of early years school children , and tackling the democratic deficit .
The IPPR says the dominance of the ‘ agglomeration narrative ’ is open to question too . It says the empirical evidence for agglomeration effects in Europe – and in the UK in particular – is at best mixed , and even negative in some studies .
It says recent studies have shown that there is no clear relationship between urban scale or density and urban productivity for the UK ’ s 14 largest cities other than London .
ONSIDE WINTER 2016 | 35