Each of the major parties has its strongholds and those areas that it needs to crack in order to cobble together a majority come the 2015 general election. For Labour, the south-east remains an issue, while the Conservatives have a particular stubborn problem with the urban north.
It is through this prism that the relatively recent infatuation with creating a northern powerhouse economy that combines the great cities should be viewed – “the north” is in vogue. In a nutshell, the Conservatives need to come up with a northern offer that appeals enough to bring voters to their camp, and the offer seems to be focused on infrastructure. This in part explains the leadership’s stubborn refusal to back down from HS2 despite the internal issues it causes – it is a symbolic commitment to the north which they can’t afford to renege on.
Infrastructure-wise we have seen the Chancellor undertaking a ‘hard-hat tour’ of the UK (including many marginal seats), repeatedly trumpeting his investment in the Northern Hub project, declaring his support for a High Speed 3 route connecting Manchester and Leeds, and a set-piece summer speech outlining his vision for an economic “powerhouse” with new “money, infrastructure and science” in the north forming the centrepiece of his 2014 Autumn Statement.
The flipside of this largesse is that the Chancellor and Prime Minister are keen to see the great cities of the north change their organisation to mimic that of London and, specifically, to support the creation of an elected mayor – the clear promise being that if they adopt this type of approach they will receive generously from the Treasury.
The north is starting to recognise its own value, too, and getting its act together in lobbying terms. For a long time they have trotted out statistics that compare the per capita spend on infrastructure in the north and London. But too often the cities of the north have competed against each other for the capital investment pot – and by doing so have let the united voice of London outmanoeuvre them.
London is adept at getting its senior politicians, transport authority, boroughs and business groups bringing to bear their media profile and political heft to ensure their pet infrastructure projects get the cash they need to progress. However, the north is belatedly starting to mirror London’s lobbying approach.
That is why the publication of the One North report – jointly commissioned by the local authorities in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – is a potential game-changer. The publication outlines their priority infrastructure proposals to strengthen the economy of the north, focusing, in particular, on rail and road improvements to create an integrated “economic geography”.
Essentially, political eyes are shifting north, and the north is saying: “If you want to buy us… here’s our shopping list.”