The awards ceremony for the prestigious Mercury Prize made it out of London for the first time. The choice of Newcastle as a venue proved to be an inspired one as local hero Sam Fender’s album People Watching triumphed last night in front of a euphoric crowd at the Utilita Arena.
The North Shields artist was lost for words but he did manage to pay tribute to Annie Orwin, his late friend who was the inspiration for People Watching - and to say that the North East was the best region in the country!
NHS a growth engine
You hear a lot of political talk about the cost of the NHS (hardly any about the cost of not having the NHS), so it was interesting to hear the thoughts of NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey this week.
Giving a keynote address to a conference in Leeds organised by the four northern health innovation networks, he challenged the narrative of the NHS as a cost burden on society, arguing that it should be seen as a driver of growth.
The former head of hospital trusts in Newcastle and Northumberland said: “We all know, especially in the North, we are massive employers – the main employer, the main supply chain. We are the thing that can drive the economy. We have to shift the conversation and think more about the growth opportunity.”
Sir Jim linked NHS innovation directly to regional prosperity, arguing that faster adoption of new technologies, clinical models, and digital systems could unlock productivity gains and attract investment.
£20bn opportunity
The Government could save more than £20 billion and support more than 220,000 people back into employment through return-to-work schemes, according to a report from Health Equity North.
The report models the fiscal impact of helping people on Universal Credit return to employment, estimating that if just 5% of claimants re-entered the workforce, the Government could save in the next four years what equates to almost the full amount of the black hole in public finances they inherited from the last Conservative government.
These savings would come from reduced benefits spending and increased tax and national insurance contributions, the report says.
“The costs to Government of assisting this number of people back into, and helping them stay in, employment could be between £1.5 to £1.9 billion. So that within just two years, the Government could save almost £10bn, meaning every £1 invested in employment support programmes could return between £5.21 and £6.63.”
The report was commissioned and funded by the Work and Pensions Select Committee and produced with academics from Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow universities.
On that note
The North East Combined Authority has launched a five-year strategy to boost employment, skills, and opportunity across the region.
New Deal for North East Workers is designed to tackle economic inactivity, youth unemployment, and low-paid insecure work - especially in areas hit hardest by deindustrialisation and health inequalities.
Bold as Brash
Hartlepool’s Jonathan Brash is one of 17 Labour MPs who have written to Rachel Reeves urging the Chancellor to launch a root-and-branch review of property taxation.
Writing for LabourList, Brash said announcing a review would show that the government was willing to take on big bold ideas to tackle the problems the British people are facing.
“The figures are shocking,” he said. “Research from Fairer Share shows that nine of the 10 constituencies with the highest Council Tax burden relative to property value are in the North. My constituency of Hartlepool is the second worst affected in the whole country.
“Meanwhile, the 10 constituencies with the lowest burden are all in central London. That is not fairness—it is an out of date postcode lottery that taxes the poorest more heavily than the wealthiest.
“Done properly, reform would cut unfair bills for millions of households, support regional equality, and even boost the Treasury in a tough fiscal environment.”
‘Left high and dry’
Staff at the former Davy Roll steel plant in Gateshead have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after the American owners decided to put the company into administration.
Union Electric Steel announced in February that the company would close next year and the 150 staff were given letters outlining an enhanced redundancy package - terms which no longer stand.
A worker told Chroniclelive: “The way we have been treated is disgusting. Some of the staff have been based at that factory since they were 15, going in as apprentices, and are now in their sixties, but they feel like they’ve been left high and dry.
“Everyone was called into a meeting at the Copthorne Hotel on Monday evening and that’s when we were told administrators were appointed and that it’s being liquidated. They said 65 people were being made redundant on the spot, and they read out names there and then – everyone was stunned, shocked.”
Unite regional officer Anna Lavery said: “It is an absolute disgrace by American owners Ampco-Pittsburgh.”
Unequal opportunities
The UK is one of the most regionally unequal economies in the developed world, according to a report from the Social Mobility Commission. Productivity in London is 29% above the national average, while in the North East, Wales, and the Midlands it is 15% below.
The commission wants the Government to support the creation of ‘opportunity zones’ offering tax breaks for companies that create jobs in areas most in need of economic progress.
Investors would receive deferrals and reductions in Capital Gains Tax and the commission believes that UK pension funds could provide significant investment into poorer regions.
Lights to go out
This year’s Durham Lumiere light festival will be the last, organisers Artichoke have announced.
CEO Helen Marriage said: “Lumiere has been made possible through remarkable partnerships with Durham County Council, Arts Council England, and for the first time this year, the North East Combined Authority.
“To sustain a festival of this scale and ambition requires investment and commitment at a level that is increasingly difficult to secure. Rather than diminish what makes Lumiere extraordinary, we have chosen to close this chapter with celebration.”
Durham County Council leader Andrew Husband said: “The festival has helped put our city and county on the world stage, attracted more than a million visitors, and created lasting opportunities for local people and businesses.
“This is by no means the end of light art or major events in County Durham. This is an opportunity for us to take time to reassess how we present light art and explore new ways to fire people’s imaginations and bring communities together.”
Focus on essentials
Durham Cabinet members have approved the Council Plan to focus on essential services amid challenging financial circumstances. A final vote on the plan will now take place at a full council meeting later this year.
The five priorities are to make the authority more efficient, supercharge the economy, build better communities, care for residents, and take a practical approach to environmental targets.
Not entirely sure where light art sits within any of those.
Life savers
Sunderland-based charity The Red Sky Foundation handed over 140 defibrillators to Durham Police yesterday - one for every emergency response vehicle in the county.
Sergio Petrucci and wife Emma set up the foundation as a thank you to the team at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital after they carried out life-saving open heart surgery on their daughter. Since then they have raised more than £2.5m to buy equipment for the hospital and to pay for the installation of defibrillators in public places across the region.
Northumbria Police have defibrillators in their 154 response cars thanks to a £200,000 donation from the foundation.
Wealth of jobs
The National Wealth Fund has invested £570m in the North East, attracting an additional £560m of private investment and creating or safeguarding 5,000 jobs, according to figures in its first impact report.
The AESC battery plant in Sunderland, Port of Tyne and Pragmatic Semiconductor in County Durham are among the biggest projects backed.
Sheer Khan, chief impact officer with the Leeds-based organisation set up by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last year, said: “We’ve achieved a lot in a short time, but there’s much more to come. We’re investing for the long-term: financing growth and powering change, with benefits that will be felt for years to come.”
Back again
Vanessa Jardine will return to her role as Northumbria Chief Constable on Wednesday of next week after spending a month in retirement.
Her move is part of the Retire and Rejoin scheme, designed to retain experienced officers without incurring an extra cost to taxpayers - but officers have to be retired for at least a month and reappointed by the Police and Crime Panel.
New president
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane will become the next president of the British Chambers of Commerce in February next year, succeeding lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox. The lifelong Sunderland fan recently became chair of The Glasshouse International Centre for Music on the Gateshead quayside.
Close but…
Manchester emerged triumphant ahead of Newcastle, Glasgow and Cambridge to be crowned UK Design Capital of the Year, a new category introduced by Building Design, who organise the annual Architect of the Year Awards.
In the run-up to the awards, their article talked of a “growing sense of optimism in Newcastle which is reflected in a series of strikingly confident regeneration schemes. However, it also highlighted connectivity as an issue with the the closure or partial closure of several bridges, the crumbling Gateshead flyover and ongoing works on the central motorway.
There was good news for Newcastle-based FaulknerBrowns who were named Public Building Architect of the Year.
A quick word
South Tyneside independent councillor Andrew Guy has criticised Labour colleagues after a Freedom of Information request revealed that they had spent nearly £15,000 in first-class train travel in 18 months. The UK Space Agency has awarded Northumbria University £287,000 to undertake further research into the use of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) technology in space to improve the health and fitness of astronauts. Demolition work around the A167 Gateshead Flyover will begin on Monday, although the dismantling of the crumbling structure will not begin until the new year. Metro operators Nexus are assessing whether the demolition will have an impact on train services. A consultation has begun which could result in the closure of two Northumberland schools. The Cheviot Learning Trust is proposing to close Prudhoe Castle First School, with pupils moving to Ovingham, and Mickley First which would be amalgamated with Broomley school in Stocksfield. Newcastle leisure complex The Gate has been put up for sale by Crown Estates for £15.65m - around a quarter of the price the royal owners paid for it 13 years ago. Gateshead Council has hired two extra staff to deal with the issue of long-term empty buildings. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Services will build an “all hazards village” at its Barmston Mere centre in Washington to train firefighters in how to tackle different types of emergencies. Northumberland councillor Richard Lambert is appealing his expulsion from Reform UK for challenging the group leadership. He joins colleague Nicole Brooke as a non-aligned councillor. Bishop Auckland College has joined forces with The Auckland Project in a “landmark” partnership aimed at strengthening skills development, creating employment opportunities and enhancing the town’s cultural and visitor economy.
Bigging up Newcastle
Former Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has moved his family to Dubai to play lower league football - but it sounds like he could do a great job for the club in helping to attract top players to the North East.
“There’s this debate about whether Newcastle are able to attract the big players compared to the Manchester clubs and the London clubs but, until you go there, you don’t understand what it does to you,” the 33-year-old told the BBC.
“There are loads of things to do. I don’t care what anyone says. If players are going to listen to this, it’s a no-brainer to go there and play football.
“You will not find love at a football club like I found at Newcastle, with how they take to their players and how much they back you,” he said.
“I had experienced playing against Newcastle at St James’ Park and you get a real buzz, but you never understand how big the club is until you are there.”
The interview is long and takes an inexplicable detour to take in mobile phone thefts, crime figures, Jenson Button, and not wearing a watch in London. But Shelvey, a Londoner who spent seven seasons at Newcastle, says the North East is the only part of the UK he would return to.
More needed
The North East is to receive £1.5m from a Government pot of £84m to tackle homelessness this winter. It’s the smallest amount to be given out and is less than half of the second-lowest allocation - £4m to the East of England.
Stephen Bell, chief executive of the charity Changing Lives, said: “This funding will offer some short-term help, but it falls far short of what is needed to create lasting change. Without sustained, fair investment that reflects regional need, homelessness services will remain in crisis response mode instead of being able to plan and prevent.”
Business bites
Around 70 Northern business leaders have signed an open letter calling on the Government to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full, with a new line from Liverpool through Manchester Airport, Bradford and Leeds, with links to Sheffield. Bellway chief executive Jason Honeyman has announced a £150m share buyback programme after a “good” set of results saw an increase in revenue, profits and housing completions. Developer Citrus Durham has revealed plans for a £250m business hub near Bowburn, an extension of the existing Integra 61 scheme and the Amazon distribution centre. Wealth management firm Fairstone says it is on target to double assets under management to £40 billion by the end of 2030 after reporting a 21% profit rise in its latest accounts. Willis Aviation Services has officially opened a twin-bay hangar at Teesside International Airport to oversee aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul for a number of operators. NRL has been named Recruitment Company of the Year by APSCo UK, the professional body for staffing companies. Chief executive David Redmayne said: “It doesn’t get more prestigious than to be recognised by the leading voice in the recruitment sector for this highly coveted award.” Car dealer Vertu is warning of a £5.5m hit to profits because of the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover which forced a factory shutdown. Premier Marinas has acquired the portfolio of Boatfolk in a deal that takes its total number of sites from 11 to 22, including the Royal Quays Marina in South Shields.
1985 ad break
A late change to the ad break this week in order to bring a touch of topicality to this nostalgia slot.
The results of the ‘Our BBC, Our Future’ survey were published yesterday. Boss Tim Davie said audiences wanted the BBC to remain independent, impartial, and universally available, but that they also expect value for money and greater transparency.
He could do worse than show people this ad from 1985 with John Cleese doing something of a reprise of his “What have the Romans ever done for us” speech from Life of Brian.
See how many famous faces you name. There’s loads.
THE WIDER VIEW
Small ads, big problem
“Reduced rent for suitable female tenant”. “Alternative arrangements can be discussed”.
Just two examples of the vague euphemistic language you can find on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, says Chris Waugh, a lecturer in sociology and criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He has been studying the experiences of people in sex-for-rent arrangements and has written an article for The Conversation headlined ‘Sex for rent is illegal in the UK. Why are thousands of people still affected?’
“While such arrangements might come with a veneer of consent,” he says. “Research from the UK and US shows they are often exploitative and disempowering. They start with a power imbalance, usually economic, that allows one person to exploit another’s desperation for housing.
“Sex-for-rent is not a fringe issue. It is a symptom of how deeply our housing and welfare systems have failed – and it demands a response as structural as the harm itself.”
‘Innovating like mad’
“Made in China” has different connotations today than 20 years ago. Far from being focused on low-quality products, China is now viewed as a leader in rapidly-growing, high-value technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, drones and advanced robotics.
A big part of that transformation is down to the country’s focus on automation, says Matt Oliver, industry editor at The Telegraph.
Greg Jackson, boss of energy supplier Octopus is one of the British executives who have visited “dark factories” where robots do so much of the work alone that there is no need to leave the lights on for humans.
“We visited a dark factory producing some astronomical number of mobile phones,” he said. “You get this sense of a change, where China’s competitiveness has gone from being about government subsidies and low wages to a tremendous number of highly skilled, educated engineers who are innovating like mad.”
Between 2014 and 2024, the number of industrial robots deployed in China rocketed from 189,000 to more than two million. The overall number of robots added in China last year was 295,000, compared to 27,000 in Germany, 34,000 in the US and just 2,500 in the UK.
49 years later…
How did I not know this?
There’s a single that spent nine weeks at the top of the charts in 1976. The song title is NOT in the lyrics - but the title of the song that replaced it IS.
We’re talking about Queen’s 5 minute and 55 second ground-breaking epic Bohemian Rhapsody where Freddie Mercury famously belts out “Mamma mia, mamma mia” - the title of the Abba song that took over from it as No.1.
Thank you Radio 2’s Vernon Kay for that little nugget.
Unseen Bohemian Rhapsody verses and drafts of other Queen hits will feature in a new book A Life in Lyrics which will be illustrated with images from Mercury’s personal archive and is scheduled for release on September 1 next year, a few days before he would have turned 80.
I’ve started so…
I see an awful lot of headlines while researching Eyes & Ears. I felt sorry for Steve Bruce this week.
At least they waited until he was finished.