Leeds

More Evidence That the North-South Divide is Growing

North South Divide

There was little surprise with the news this week that for every one job created in the North since 2004, twelve have been created in the South, according to a Centre for Cities report that is summarised here.

The fact that this latest study covers the past decade also shows that neither the previous Labour government, with its push towards regionalism, nor the current coalition administration, have been able to reverse what is an unhealthy and unacceptable trend that has been part of the UK economic landscape for generations now.

The devolution programme that George Osborne has been driving through his ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiative has not, of course, had a chance to prove whether it will be the key to finally solve this long-standing conundrum, but if the regions and cities across the north grasp the opportunities he is offering, then I have no doubt that more strategic planning and spending on transport, skills, training and economic development at a local level will contribute to a growth in city region jobs and wealth.

However, more radical proposals are necessary too, not least identifying new ways of supporting existing businesses, and as importantly encouraging start up’s.

The Northwest and Yorkshire is still way short of where it needs to be in terms of VAT registered businesses, and the ‘enterprise culture’ that successive governments have attempted to establish has not been delivered.

There are still too many public sector led ‘business support’ projects – I still shake my head in disbelief when I hear local government officers who wouldn’t know a balance sheet from the back end of a bus waxing lyrical about what business needs – and a range of financial incentives in place that actually favour larger companies who would have ample access to finance in the mainstream market anyway. The Regional Growth Fund is the most obvious culprit, but it is not on its own.

Our man in Manchester Michael Taylor has restated Downtown’s belief that we need a regional investment bank in his blog here and it would certainly be on the menu of change that is required if we are not to be talking about an even bigger North-South gap in 2025.

But a much bigger infrastructure spend than Osborne has announced, with house building and improving the regions motorway network at the centre of the plan; a drive within city regions to focus at least as much attention on growing our own talent as we do on inward investment; and a new range of genuine financial incentives for small companies who have ambitions to grow, with tax credits for those who take on more staff are just a few possibilities to be considered.

As we approach the General Election in May, Downtown will be agitating for change and suggesting as many new ideas as we can. Join the conversation and let me know what you think could begin to close the North-South economic gap.

You want to get fit this year? Hire a PT

Personal Trainer

Of the many New Year resolutions that friends and colleagues appear to have committed to in 2015, ‘getting fit’ is among the most popular.

After the debauchery of Christmas parties and the consumption of vast quantities of food and drink, it is perhaps inevitable that your personal health, and weight, with be foremost in your mind; but as we approach week three of this new year, I wonder how many of those who wanted to ‘get fit’ have done anything about it?

The usual pattern for those that do, in my experience, is for a gym subscription to be purchased. You can see in Gym facilities up and down the country at present the huge surge in gym memberships, as regulars become increasingly agitated as the ‘new year resolution’ brigade hog the treadmills, bikes classes and other equipment.

By mid-February, the vast majority of these people will have started to make their excuses (not enough time, a minor injury, a sick pet to look after at home) disappeared, and abandoned the notion of fitness – probably until two weeks before they hit the beach, when they will desperately try, and fail, to create a Baywatch like body for their holidays.

Having studied this cycle for over twenty years now, I have a suggestion for those who have started on a new health and fitness regime; and would genuinely like to stick with it. Get some Personal Training sessions booked in.

A trainer will tailor your training sessions to your fitness level. They will not let you ‘go mad’ on day one, only to find yourself too sore, or too injured, to return for session two.

Having a PT will allow you to learn from a qualified expert what exercise will work for you and your body type. They will allow you to hit your targets quicker – saving you time.

And, most importantly, a good PT will motivate you. Motivate you to keep going through what will, and should be, challenging workouts; and motivating you to come back for more.

I have been going the gym for twenty-five years now, religiously, 2-4 times a week. Vanity has most probably been my main motivator if I’m honest.

During that quarter of a century of running, cycling, punch bag and weights, I have often altered my training regime to account for age, injuries and just to prevent boredom setting in. I’ve had to alter my diet massively during that time too. Super fit mates, Men’s Health magazines and the odd tip from a social media site has provided me with all the support, advice and guidance I wanted. Until last year.

In September I got myself a Personal Trainer. He has taken my training to another level, pushing me to places that I didn’t think I could get to, bullying me into doing that extra set, but most importantly tailoring a programme that hits the parts of my body that other exercises can’t reach.

Even those of us who are experienced trainers need a lift now and again, so if you’re new to training, or a bit of a ‘veteran’ like me, do yourself a favour and seek out a good PT who can help you maximise the benefit of your fitness regime.

Make Downtown top of your ‘resolution’ list

Downtown

Well here we go! Another New Year has arrived and we are all busy trying to maintain our ‘resolutions’ of cutting back on chocolate, ‘dry’ January, starting a new fitness regime, or whatever it might be. Good luck to all of you who have made a commitment and commiserations to those of you who have given up already.

The New Year is also an opportunity to review ambitions and plans for your business, and I hope part of your plan includes engagement with Downtown in Business which is planning a fantastic twelve months of activity, in terms of the events programme that we will offer; and the involvement in an increasingly interesting political landscape that will include a General Election and continued discussion over devolution and the Northern Powerhouse.

Helping business influence government thinking, and offering a genuine business voice for the North of England is a key Downtown objective, but equally important is supporting our members to maximise the potential of their business, and we are determined to build on the £800m plus worth of deals that we have facilitated for our network during the past decade.

That is partly about the quality introductions we can provide through our business support managers who are on the ground in each city, but it is also about enabling you access to intelligence and advice from some of the most successful entrepreneurs from across the UK.

To kick off what will be a series of Downtown events that will bring together members with a high growth mind-set and business leaders who have completed the high growth journey, we have a half day conference in Liverpool entitled ‘Limitless – Developing a hyper growth Mind Set’

Among the speakers will be two of the regions’ best known business mentors and coaches Andy Bounds and Michael Finnigan. There will also be a range of business owners who have ‘been there, done that and got the T-shirt’.

This is the type of networking that allows you to meet quality people and learn a thing or two as well. It is what Downtown does best, and if one of your resolutions is to grow your business in 2015, then it would be daft not to take advantage of what we will be offering this year. I look forward to seeing you at a number of our events this year, and wish you all the very best with your hopes and aspirations.

Happy New Year!

To learn more about Downtown CLICK HERE 

Leeds needs a city vision

Leeds City

The announcement that Leeds & Partners will cease to be from next year, with the organisations activities and responsibilities being transferred to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), has been met with little surprise, and even less regret from the majority of business leaders in the city.

The organisation has had a controversial and rollercoaster two and a half year existence, with its high profile chief executive demonstrating an ability to be creative and ‘out there’ but less impressive, or perhaps bothered, at doing the local networking, schmoozing and charm offensive that is often as big a part of such a role – particularly if you are an ‘outsider’ as Londoner Lurene Joseph very clearly was.

It is a pity this innovative approach to inward investment, marketing and growth didn’t work in the way the city’s decision makers had obviously hoped, because actually Leeds, the city, needs a single, focussed entity to big up and major on the brand.

‘Live it, Love it’ may have ended up as an unloved slogan, but it was at least for Leeds and about Leeds. Can an organisation such as the LEP, which has a responsibility for the whole city region, really give Leeds the prominence and dominance that it deserves?

As Local Authority leaders from West Yorkshire dismiss calls for a ‘metro mayor’ in the hope that a different coalition with different demands will be running the Westminster show from May 2015 (good luck with that one), the region is in danger of losing its way with a confusion emerging about how it does see its future governance arrangements.

If the Combined Authority is to progress as the strategic body for the area, would it not have been the better organisation to place the Leeds & Partners work? Is Leeds accepting an ‘equal’ billing to their neighbouring authorities for a quiet life, in the hope that as the city growth agenda accelerates those neighbours will eventually see that the big city brand really is the only show in town? Would the council leadership, post the General Election, really set its face against the establishment of an elected mayor if they were offered the deal Manchester has secured?

All of these unanswered questions leave a huge uncertainty about what and where Leeds is at the moment, and uncertainty is never a great comforter to business. For what it’s worth, I think something with more clarity and purpose will emerge, but this needs to happen sooner rather than later.

The only consolation, and it is a small one, is that other city regions are struggling with similar challenges as ‘devolution’ becomes a genuine opportunity, rather than the political panacea it had been seen as for many a year. Liverpool’s mayor has fallen out with his Combined Authority, and they are having a right old bun fight on Merseyside as to the pros and cons of a mayoral model; in the Midlands, places like Wolverhampton want the additional power and resource, but are choking on the proposition of working in partnership with the big city that is Birmingham.

In the end, as Rochdale, Wigan, Stockport, Trafford and even the city of Salford can testify, only when a city region settles on the major city being the hub, the attack brand and the economic driver can a city region progress. The sooner the civic leaders of West Yorkshire reach that same conclusion, and truly accept Leeds as the attack brand in this part of the world, the better.

Look at Manchester – and weep

Devo Manc

The Autumn Statement from the Chancellor on Wednesday provided yet more good news for the city of Manchester.

Following the recent ‘Devo Manc’ deal that delivered the Greater Manchester region with a significant devolution of powers with over a billion pounds of investment to match, George Osborne announced additional benefits to what he clearly sees as the hub of the Northern Powerhouse , with plans for the establishment of a huge theatre – named the Factory after Tony Wilson’s legendary label; a £235million national advanced materials centre, the Sir Henry Royce Institute, which will be set up at Manchester University; and a whole range of infrastructure projects around road and rail that will directly benefit the Manchester city region.

There were some crumbs off the table, by comparison, for Liverpool, Leeds and Lancashire – but once again the big winner was Manchester with an early Christmas gift from the Chancellor that is worth an estimated £1.3billion.

Rather than be envious of this remarkable deal, struck largely by Manchester Labour politicians with a Tory Chancellor, other northern cities and regions need to finally wake up and learn the lessons that Sir Richard Leese, Sir Howard Bernstein et al have been teaching us for twenty years or more.

City regions and county’s work ‘better together’. They can produce cohesive and consistent policy and strategy proposals that are then efficiently delivered. The economic benefits are tangible. The political fall outs are negligible, and anyway are always kept private.

Whilst Leeds comforted itself with the promise from Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that it could have devolution without signing up to a ‘Metro Mayor’ (another broken promise Nick?) and Liverpool continues to indulge in a parochialism in politics that is more akin to the practices of a Parish Council than a super Combined Authority, the Chancellor and his Treasury officials took a look at the northern landscape and decided that, Manchester aside, the North simply isn’t mature enough to be trusted with a huge chunk of devolution and cash.

Lancashire’s civic leaders are at least now talking to one another, although there are still threats of UDI from places like Chorley and the Fylde, whilst West Lancashire is flirting with Liverpool and some in the East of the county delude themselves that splitting from the rest of Lancashire would be a genuine option.

By next May, devolution will be a big part of all the major parties agendas. By then it is imperative that the rest of the north gets its act together and has a narrative in place to take maximum advantage of whatever devolved powers and resources are on offer.

A ‘Me Too’ approach is clearly not going to be enough, and it is now crucial that the public and private sectors come together in each region to work up plans that will convince Westminster leaders and officials that we have the maturity to recognise the need for unity, innovation and reform of local governance structures.

If that doesn’t happen, we won’t just have a north-south divide; but a two speed north of England, where Manchester powers ahead, leaving the rest to watch and weep.