50 | Tees Business
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 51
TEES TALK
The Government launched the Northern Powerhouse
in mid-2015 with the hope of redressing the NorthSouth economic imbalance and to attract investment
into northern cities and towns. More than 12 months
on, we asked Teesside business leaders: What do
you make of the Northern Powerhouse?
Claire Preston, CEO, Sound Training,
Middlesbrough
Harriet Spalding, business development
manager, Mandale Group, Stockton
“I’ve absolutely no idea what the Northern
Powerhouse really is. As far as I can make
out, it’s just a slogan invented, I believe, by
Cameron and Osbourne to buy time and win
favour with dissatisfied northern voters.
It’s a scandal that so much is spent on
infrastructure projects for London. The
deliberate financial deprivation of this area at
the expense of the affluent South costs us
money, jobs and hope. Teesside has some
incredible talent, ideas and businesses. With
some serious backing, we can take on the
world once more.”
“I’m not too sure how I feel about the
Northern Powerhouse. While it’s a great idea
in principal, there’s a lot of work required
before we even start taking a step in the right
direction, and for that reason I am still a bit
sceptical about it. That said, we have seen
enquiries for investment properties increase
in recent months as people start looking
beyond London for opportunities – hopefully
this is a sign of things to come.”
John Harrington, director, Top Brass,
Hartlepool
“To be honest, when asked the question I
had to Google it. I’d heard of the Northern
Powerhouse, of course, but was that purely
because a Stockton MP James Wharton
was heading it up? Now that some MP from
Leeds is heading it up I haven’t heard a thing
about it. Was it purely a marketing slogan
to try and rally the North? I’ve not heard
anything about how it will benefit the North,
me or my business interests.”
“The idea of a Northern Powerhouse is ideal
for every business in this region. We have a
strong, untapped skillset that we have to take
advantage of now or chance losing it forever.
It’s good that the Government has recognised
there’s a need for something of this nature
in our part of the world, and it’s encouraging
to hear that help is at hand to help the region
flourish. But we as a business community
need to make it happen, run and control it
ourselves.”
Keith Ahmed, Director, Core Legal,
Stockton
“The Northern Powerhouse is one of the
biggest political projects we’ve seen for a
long time. Although we’re still waiting to see
any meaningful government policies that
will drive the northern-based cities forward,
especially following the uncertainties of
Brexit and what appeared to show a NorthSouth divide, we’re hopeful that, as a newly
established business in Teesside, we’ll see
the region benefit and prosper.”
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Tony Green, director, Commercial
Commando, Castle Eden
“The concept of the Northern Power House
was, I believe, invented for purely political
reasons in an effort to prick UKIP’s bubble in
the North of England.
When the dust settles, there’ll be no
industrial or business renaissance. We’ll still
be the poor relations and another generation
will endure the daily grind of limited job
prospects and hope for themselves and their
families. Both major parties have ignored our
region for too long. Northern Powerhouse?
It’s all waffle.”
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Peter Smithson, director, Erimus
Productions, Middlesbrough
Sam Tate, head of operations, Vintage
Chartered Financial Consultants, Stockton
“I’ve yet to see any hard evidence of how
the Northern Powerhouse has positively
contributed to Teesside businesses. As we’re
not considered a ‘core city’, I’m not hugely
confident of this changing anytime soon.
I firmly believe that Teesside businesses
should support each other in a proactive
manner to help grow the local economy
organically. If we can do this, as well as
nurturing the many green shoots, then any
future input from the Northern Powerhouse
will be a bonus.”
“Given that the Northern Powerhouse was a
toothless red herring anyway, with no budget
or real legislative powers, it has done little
but claim the successes of consequential
private projects. In James Wharton, we had
a minister who was completely disengaged,
leading to a lack of any real support for the
region. This apathy was shown to its full
detriment during the SSI capitulation with his
rabid inaction and cooperation with any of the
public in the area.”
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