Press release following Launch Events in Newcastle upon Tyne and Carlisle.
A new think tank focusing entirely on the North East and Cumbria has been launched with packed events in Newcastle & Carlisle – the area they are calling the True North. TRUE NORTH Policy & Research is bringing together businesses, politicians from all parties and experts and influencers in key sectors of our society “to influence national and local government to adopt policies to improve economic and social outcomes in the TRUE NORTH”.
Chaired by John Stevenson, former MP for Carlisle and Chairman of the influential Northern Research Group of Northern MPs, the think tank will develop and promote ambitious policy ideas to power up the True North region.
The first launch event, Turbo Charging Growth in the True North, was on Friday 7th March and was hosted by UNW in Newcastle. Joining John Stevenson on the panel was Tees Valley Mayor Lord Houchen, Deputy CEO of the Northern Powerhouse Sarah Mulholland and Northern Agenda Editor Rob Parsons.
Ben Houchen called for “reparations for the North” to highlight the decades of under-investment by national Governments of all colours in the North when compared with the South East and London. John Stevenson highlighted the success of the Elizabeth Line as a strong example of successful infrastructure investment and asked “Where is our Charles Line?”.
Ben Houchen also went on to highlight the policy of the current Government to focus economic growth efforts on the so-called Growth Corridor between Oxford and Cambridge and reported discussions he’d had recently with Saudi investors who have been discouraged from investing in the North East in favour of the South.
The event was attended by over 50 influential people from across the region from the worlds of business, public policy and politics.
The second event was hosted by Armstrong Watson in their offices in Carlisle with the same topic and a roundtable format. 25 attendees from mainly business discussed the challenges that the True North region faces when competing with other English regions and highlighted the areas that need the most attention to close the economic gap.
Much of the discussion was around desperately needed transport upgrades to connect different parts of the region and to connect ‘travel to work’ areas. There was universal dismay that key transport investments like dualling the A66 have been cancelled and that rail and bus transport services between smaller towns are so slow and infrequent. Deprivation hotspots often suffer from poor transport links which makes it harder to break the cycle and get people into work.
It was highlighted in both events that the True North is well placed to contribute to national energy security, so important with the ongoing war in Ukraine. Cumbria is a major centre for the nuclear industry which must power the national energy baseload and the North East coast from Blyth down to Teesside has some of Europe’s most innovative companies serving the renewable energy sector. True North are planning more work on this and are keen to hear from anybody who can contribute.
Speaking after the Carlisle event, True North Chairman said “We are very pleased with the response we’ve had for our project so far and the launch events have been very well received. There’s obviously a need for people to challenge national policies which have failed to narrow regional gaps for decades and for us to promote bold, ambitious policy ideas. We’re focusing now on prioritising our work on research and policy papers and organising our event on Growing the Rural Economy at Hexham Mart on May 16th.
Business attendee Rachael Bell of Rachael Bell Wealth Management added “I was delighted to be at the launch event of True North Research and Policy. A great opportunity to bring together business and community leaders across all sectors, to work collaboratively, discuss priorities and drive forward initiatives that will enable Cumbria & the North East to thrive.”