Could this idea ever get off the ground? Presumably it would be based on new technology based projects rather than traditional manufacturing? Is there the willpower and energy to make a success out of this concept or has the northern workforce somehow lost the qualities that created the first Northern Powerhouse of the industrial revolution? I would love to see something around this concept taking place, but I wonder about the practicalities....infrastructure, investment, skills

What is a Northern powerhouse?

a new train line between Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.

Something to distract the North while they pave London's streets with gold.

What the North (and the rest of the country) needs is better infrastructure. We need the cities (major and minor) far better interconnected by road, rail, high speed internet etc alongside more local responsibility & decision making as to where money goes.
The North in particular is crying out for some mid to high end technology/manufacturing so that talented people don't have to move down south to find the better jobs.

This is all coming off the back of the powers that be in Manchester deciding that they will appoint a mayor, and as a result will be given greater control of how the city is run. All this despite it being rejected by the electorate a couple of years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32726171

This is all coming off the back of the powers that be in Manchester deciding that they will appoint a mayor, and as a result will be given greater control of how the city is run. All this despite it being rejected by the electorate a couple of years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32726171

It does make you think though. I remember my first job. We used to have a big RAC roadmap up in the corner of the office which was so old three quarters of the M6 motorway simply wasn't there.

When you think of the truly massive building projects we embarked upon immediately in the wake of WWII (when we were all but broke financially):

The motorway system.
NHS infrastructure.
Nuclear power stations (specifically Windscale).
The building of schools and polytechnics.
Airports.
etc. etc. etc.

I mean, they're constantly raving about the benefits afforded by the HS2 project. But HS2 is practically dwarfed in scale next to the entirety of the above.

And think of all we gained from the above.

It's a very similar story in the United States. Right now they are facing the costs of renewing the colossal feats of infrastructure which were initiated by the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.

Infrastructure in the North is great. Much easier to get around on Motorways etc than the South East! Infrastructure is not the problem. It's people with ideas and money to invest that's the problem.

A fully integrated, well thought out transport infrastructure would help.

Won't happen because too many selfish, self interested individuals and businesses will fight tooth and claw because it may "cost" in the short term.

That's part of the problem, in this country short term means 1 year, medium term 3 years and long term 5 years and if you don't "get a return on the investment" AKA something for nothing, then the finances will be not be forthcoming.

This country has some of the best business brains on the planet, sadly they are not running the businesses and systems that are currently in place or could be in the future, our outdated socio-economic system based on aristocratic methodologies rather than meritocratic methodologies is a key contributor as to why potentially beneficial systems to ALL never really have a chance.

But hey, lets not dwell, what you never had you never miss.

There are good jobs in the north. Graphine technology is currently putting Manchester on the map and both Manchester and Leeds have very strong digital, legal and financial economies.

The problem is that the infrastructure is very poor. Rail in the north still involves a crowded 3 carriage pacer train. It currently takes a hour to travel between the two biggest cities in the north, even though they are just 40 miles away. The M62 between Ainley Top and Gildersome is more congested than the M25 and inner-city transport is laughable.

Take somewhere like Teeside as an example - one of the most deprived areas of the country. Geographically, it's hardly a million miles away from Newcastle, which is doing OK for itself. It stands to reason therefore that Teeside could easily provide a labour force for Newcastle - until you look at the rail network.

There is one direct train an hour between Middlesbrough or Stockton and Newcastle. That train takes more than one hour and a season ticket costs around £230 a month - roughly one week at NMW. There is therefore little incentive for the people of Teeside to commute to where work is, which leads to the area struggling.

People will always move to where there is work so, if we make an assumption that people are prepared to commute by an arbitrary amount (let's say up to 45 mins each way) and prepared to pay an arbitrary amount to commute, you have two options:

Option 1 is to cram as many people into a 45 minute radius around major employment hubs as you possibly can. That creates all sorts if infrastructure issues on housing, schools, hospitals, etc, and it seriously harms the towns and cities that these people leave.

Option 2 is to increase the number of places that fall within this 45 minute radius. You do this by improving rail links to make them more frequent, faster, more affordable and capable of carrying more people. You can also do this by improving the road networks and by improving accessibility to infrastructure such as high speed internet, negating the need for as many people to move around in the first place.

I know which one I prefer.