Theresa May

I always envisaged that somewhere such as Newcastle would be a centre for things to do with this Northern Powerhouse - I have never seen any real idea of what it is supposed to be other than encourage businesses to go there. Surely that will need a lot of monetary carrots to get many companies really interested and one would think with the heavier industry expertise that the North always had that would be the way to go. From what I have read Nissan has its most productive plant located in the region - proof -if any were needed - that the workforce there is a good hard working one and worth investing in. Anyone with expertise and the wish for it to come to fruition is a good thing.

A few years ago the North East voted against having an elected mayor.
Osborne last year said we had to elect one, otherwise we wouldn't get any extra money. Monetary stick, Welshwife.
That's reason enough not to want Osborne in charge of his northern powerhouse. He couldn't care less about the democratic will of the people of the North East.

I agree.
Always dangerous to seperate any politian from the politics. Do people trust him?

Surely more businesses based in the Northern cities will be beneficial to the small , in the form of commuter jobs. I can't see anything against this project, especially when considered in the light of HS2.

durhamjen you seem to have feelings of a personal nature towards George Osborne. You can't let that get in the way of balanced consideration of this project. Doesn't make sense.

"As yet the only comments are not really interested in the Northern Power House as a concept just the dislike of George Osborne ."

Goodness, if we were not allowed to express totally prejudiced, unsubstantiated views GN would die over night!

I admit I find GO arrogant and this is pure prejudice as I have never met the man. More to the point I do not agree with his politics either and perhaps that is against your rules too although his politics are out there as a fact and I know my views so that would seem a little harsh.

I was being positive about his think tank and hopeful that it actually will help the North.

That's not personal, jingl. That's democracy.
We voted, said no, we didn't want a mayor, he is trying to impose one. Not democratic.

Know nothing about a mayor. Was talking about Northern Powerhouse.

Newcastle does have a Lord Mayor , dj, and has had one for hundreds of years.
At present the mayor is chosen by the councillors. Is that preferable in your view to being elected by the people?
I don't actually remember the people of Newcastle voting against having a mayor, but perhaps that's because I live in Northumberland
I do remember voting against John Prescott's barmy idea for a Northern Assembly, and about 70% of the electorate thought it was barmy too .

The role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial ja and is nothing to do with the actual decisions taken by the local authority. It is given as a mark of respect for the work done by the councillor chosen. This year Newcastle celebrated 800 years of the Mayorality, but that is nothing to do with what dj is writing about. This was the proposal that there should be an elected Mayor which we massively rejected we didn't want another level of bureaucracy. GO doesn't think we have the right to do this, so he has threatened to cut funding you can't accuse Prescott of this, he accepted the vote.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/08/north-east-england-devolution-deal-off-the-table-sajid-javid

I didn't say Newcastle, Jane, I said the North East.

I can understand people not wanting George Osborne in charge of the NP but the fact remains that people have got him whether they like it or not, and possibly for a very long time if the Labour Party carries on as it is doing, certainly for the next few years I should think.

So, given that undeniable fact, if I had to vote for a mayor in order to get money to help the project along, I would. It would seem self-defeating to do otherwise.

Thank you for the link dj
I missed all that, probably because I was travelling that day.
The article does say though that it was the councillors who rejected the deal, not the electorate.
I see also that "On Tuesday Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside all voted to move forward with the devolution plans, but Sunderland, Durham, South Tyneside and Gateshead voted against."
Democracy and devolution are all very well but where do you draw the line? Is it right that those south of the river veto something that could bring wealth and jobs to the region?
Not arguing, just asking.

Which bit of the North East, jen? What is your mayoral (actual or would be) area called officially?

Durham, I suppose.

According to this government publication the turnout for the Durham City referendum was only 28.5% (p12). Looks to me as if most people didn't care one way or the other.

And why would they? That's the bit I don't understand. What are the objections to a directly elected mayor?

Rejected in 2012 by Newcastle www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17949950

Osborne isn't in charge of the Northern Powerhouse.
He is in charge of a new think tank he set up called the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Andrew Percy is the government minister in charge of the Northern Powerhouse for Theresa May, along with Neil O'Brien.
Osborne obviously has time on his hands.

If there is going to be some sort of assembly anyway, you have to decide whether you involve the whole of the North East or if you want to be just north of the Tyne, which is a small population compared to the Durham Wearside Teesside group.

In 2012 Newcastle had a referendum and voted against a directly elected mayor, even though the Hexham MP was in favour of it. Or maybe because he was.

Durham itself is a metropolitan authority with no separation of city and county.
There is a North East group as it is, which has been running since the government got rid of regional authorities when it came to power.
Do you remember One North East, Jane?
Since that was abolished the seven areas got together to form the North East Combined Authority. Until this year the leader was Simon Henig, who is the leader of Durham Council.
All this organisation seems to be ignored by the government.

The objection to a directly elected mayor is that it gives an extra layer of government, costing money which could be better spent.
All those MPs queuing up to be mayors of Liverpool and Manchester, etc., will be earning far more than they are as an MP.
They will also have far more power.

Wasn't it Tony Blair's government that began the local government reorganisation that culminated in these mayoral referendums?

www.northeastca.gov.uk/home

Supposedly the Times reports Theresa May is "a determined woman with a massive social conscience" www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-determined-woman-with-a-massive-social-conscience-lv9lfngpz

If that is the case perhaps she will feel inclined to demonstrate her "massive social conscience" by moving soon to cease the UK Government's appalling pension practice www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/article4104695.ece of freezing a few pensioners pensions, most of whom are living in Commonwealth countries. What is appalling is that the UK finds it can afford to up-rate UK pensions in such countries as the US, Israel, Germany and Jamaica but not in Canada, Australia, Trinidad Antigua and India etc www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/25/frozen-basic-state-pension-australia-canada.
What an outrageous UK government this is, as well as previous ones?

More power than what or whom, and to do what?

Also, if they are elected directly, presumably that means they can be voted against next time if they don't come up to the standards their voters want? Do those who say this is less democratic than before think the same about the current Labour leadership election?

Except for Isle of Wight and Berwick-on-Tweed that had turnouts in the 60+%, turnouts have been very low showing that the majority of voters don't care.

Am I missing something?

What does raising the point a Mayor was rejected by Newcastle in 2012 have to do with the Northern Power House being spoken of by George Osborne in 2014?

What's the link?

There ain't one.

Durhamjen your post of 11.58

What is your point in putting up that link?. Extract -

"Javid said he was disappointed that council leaders could not agree to proceed with this “ambitious and far-reaching” devolution deal. He added: “It is with regret that we have therefore withdrawn the legislation that would have brought this deal to life, which means local people will miss out on over £1bn of investment, and new powers on transport, planning and skills.

“Handing power back to northerners is a key part of our plans to build a northern powerhouse, and our focus now will be on working to secure a new agreement for residents in those areas committed to progressing with devolution.”

While devolution plans have progressed in Manchester, Sheffield and Teesside, the proposals have been fraught with difficulty in the north-east. In May, Gateshead voted against supporting the devolution deal because of concerns about funding and its future. On Tuesday Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside all voted to move forward with the devolution plans, but Sunderland, Durham, South Tyneside and Gateshead voted against.

Council leaders who voted against the deal argued that they had not had sufficient assurances from Theresa May’s government about hundreds of millions of pounds of EU funding pledged before the Brexit vote on 23 June."

Have things not moved forward?

I have asked repeatedly of those who are against Osborne, probably the concept of the Northern Power House also what do you think of the others signed up to it, not simply Osborne. I don't follow what some posters want other than maybe the Northern Power House concept should be scrapped, or have I misinterpreted posts?