There’s a lot going on this week and I’ve tried to keep it as brief as I can for you.
Another table is published with the North East at the wrong end. There’s more optimistic noises about bringing the Olympics to the North, and a council van is photographed fly-tipping - in a neighbouring council area.
Durham County Cricket Club has applied for planning permission for a four-star hotel to be built in a corner of their picturesque Chester-le-Street ground - something that has been talked about for a very long time.
One new North East council is facing up to the harsh financial realities of being in power, another has had planning powers taken away by the Government, and a third is addressing the big local issue of, er, not wanting to be a City of Sanctuary.
Thank goodness for Teesside woman Nahla Summers who just wants to spread more kindness around the world.
‘Our turn, our time’
Some scoffed when it was suggested that the North could host a future Olympics but Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted this week that the Government is “deadly serious” about bringing them here.
The Great North, a collaboration of mayors and leaders, had written to the Government to say that any future UK Olympic bid should be based in the North, and Nandy responded by commissioning an assessment into the possibility (See: Mayors, marketing and money).
London mayor Sadiq Khan wasn’t happy, saying that leaving the capital out of any Olympics bid would be a missed opportunity. Nandy responded in The Northern Agenda podcast: “I guess I’d just say to Sadiq, that it is our turn and it is our time. And the North of England deserves this. We can do it brilliantly.”
The Wigan MP accepts that there are “significant infrastructure challenges” including transport. “So if we get this right, yes, there will be costs, but those costs are to meet things that will genuinely improve the lives of people across the whole of the North of England and improve the country’s economic prospects as well.”
Sounds like a win-win opportunity for a mission formerly known as Levelling Up - and I believe there will be more to report on this subject next week.
Paying us a visit
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has made no secret of her desire to see tourism powers and responsibilities devolved to regional leaders. But that’s not something that would find favour with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Speaking in The Northern Agenda podcast, Nandy said she is a “bit reluctant” to back the mayor's proposal to dismantle the publicly-funded VisitBritain for fear regions would then be pitted against each other in a system that created winners and losers.
Mayor McGuinness said last year: “We’re hyper conscious that VisitBritain has got a very London-centric approach to tourism, and that’s reflected in the numbers, where they’re the only ones seeing an increase and everybody else is seeing a decrease, and it’s not good enough.”
If it’s any consolation to the mayor then there are clear signs that Visit Britain are taking notice, as you will see from this Tweet.
I’d love to show you the video because it is well worth a watch - but I’ve spent far too long trying to work out how to get a video from Twitter to play on this Substack. I’m giving up now - blaming a certain trillionaire rather than my technical incompetence. But do go on to Twitter and see it for yourselves.
Bottom - again
White working class children in Newcastle have the worst life opportunities in England, according to a report published by social mobility charity The Sutton Trust.
Newcastle Central and West ranked bottom out of 543 constituencies in England in terms of outcomes for white British young people who are eligible for free school meals. It also found that someone growing up in the London constituency of Kensington and Bayswater has over 75% higher attainment and earns over 50% more a year at 28 than someone who grew up in the Newcastle constituency.
Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, who is from County Durham, said: “White working class young people continue to face some of the biggest barriers to education success in England, with many falling behind long before they leave school. And for too many young people hard work and academic success are still no guarantee of equal opportunity.
“Some disadvantaged groups, particularly working class girls, and many ethnic minorities, dramatically outperform at school, only to see those gains disappear in the labour market. That should concern anyone who believes Britain is a meritocracy.”
In the black - for now
Newcastle Lib Dems are coming to grips with the state of the council’s finances. A report presented to the council’s new cabinet on Monday confirmed that the authority came in almost £500,000 under budget for the last financial year.
That seemingly healthy situation only came about, however, because of a one-off dividend of £7.2m from Newcastle International Airport. Newcastle is part of the LA7 - the seven local authorities who own a 51% stake in the airport - and the dividend was the result of InfraBridge selling its 49% stake to Spanish firm Aena last year.
Deputy leader Mark Mitchell said: “Had it not been for that, Labour would have left us with approximately a £7m hole in the finances as they left power. I won’t go into what another administration did and talk about that for the next year and a half, but it does give you an idea of the financial difficulties the council could be facing.”
Presumably the other six councils - including the new administrations in Sunderland, South Tyneside and Sunderland - will also be facing up to life this year without the benefit of the one-off airport windfall.
Planning powers stripped
South Tyneside Council is one of nine to have been stripped of their planning powers by the government. It means all applications for major developments may now go straight to the government Planning Inspectorate for a decision if the applicant wishes.
New council leader Paul Mackings said the council had already started a training programme for members of the planning committee which would “appreciate the requirements of the new national framework. This supports a refreshed approach towards economic growth and housing supply for our residents and businesses.
“We will now work closely with government and the planning advisory service to ensure the designation can be lifted as soon as possible.”
Flagging up priorities
Sunderland’s ruling Reform group has said suspending the council’s involvement in the nationwide City of Sanctuary scheme would be its first motion at its first full council meeting on June 24.
The Reverend Chris Howson, who chairs the group Sunderland City of Sanctuary, said the move was “performative gesture politics” and that there was no real scheme to withdraw from as the previous administration had only committed to pursuing the status.
Councillor resigns
Reform councillor Alex Clarke has resigned from South Tyneside Council over homophobic and sexist comments on his own podcast Clarke Out Loud which he runs with his partner. Clarke, who was elected two months ago, said the podcast is “a comedy‑based show, and the tone is intentionally exaggerated, self‑deprecating, and rooted in humour.”
Homeless charity warning
Homelessness charity Oasis said funding from a number of sources has come to an end and fears it will have to close its drop-in centre in Sunderland which has been open since 2018.
CEO Sarah Gorman said it needed sustainable investment to stay open in the long term and called for help from “any person of influence, major donor or charitable trust who can help keep this vital service open”.
One of a kind
A woman has completed a 2,000 mile cycle challenge across the United States on a route in the shape of the word ‘kindness’. Nahla Summers, 46, who lives in Yarm, was inspired by people’s kindness when her husband Paul died in 2012 while on a charity bike ride and founded the community interest company Sunshine People which encourages acts of kindness.
Pedalling a two-seater quadricycle for about 40 miles a day from Minnesota to Iowa is just the latest in her awareness-raising challenges.
A quick word
An investigation has been launched after a Newcastle City Council van appeared to be photographed fly-tipping in neighbouring Northumberland - just yards from a local tip. Cramlington and Killingworth MP Emma Foody has moved from the backbenches to become an assistant government whip. ‘Visible policing’ is going to increase in Durham. Chief Constable Rachel Bacon said she expects to have 19 extra neighbourhood officers on patrol by the end of the financial year in addition to 14 police community support officers (PCSOs), who have just started their training. Campaigners in Burnhope said they will return to the High Court to challenge the approval of a controversial solar farm in the County Durham countryside. Researchers at Northumbria University have been awarded £1.3m to lead a major study aimed at helping GP practices across England provide better care for young adults living with type 2 diabetes. Plans for up to 130 new homes in Felling have been approved despite Gateshead FC objecting to the loss of open space and sporting opportunities. A consultation on two options to ease congestion issues at the Moor Farm roundabout on the A19 near Cramlington has begun. It will run until July 28. Former Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam, who played a key role in the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, has been honoured with a blue plaque at Durham University’s Trevelyan College where she studied between 1968 and 1971. She went on to become MP for Redcar and died in 2005. Sunderland footballer Luke O’Nien will be awarded an honorary degree by the city’s university next month in recognition of the 31-year-olds “outstanding contribution to the city – both on and off the field”. North East singer Joe McElderry will become the first person ever to receive an honorary degree from Newcastle College University Centre at its Graduation Ceremony on July 10. A team from the Black Bull pub in Haltwhistle has completed the Monte Carlo or Bust rally in a Thomas the Tank Engine-inspired Citroen Picasso. The run is one of Europe’s largest banger rallies, where participants drive in a car which costs less than £500. A new Travel North East website has been launched that brings together for the first time all essential information on bus, Metro, Shields Ferry and local rail services in one single online hub for the whole region.
Ostentatious!
What is the collective noun for peacocks? The answer is an ostentation - something I learned from reading a BBC report about an ostentation of peacocks who have have ‘moved in’ to a street off the West Road in Newcastle.
They’ve been there for weeks but no one knows where they came from. Most residents have been happy to welcome the colourful birds - apart from being wakened up by their early hours screeching.
Join the innovators
Blur bassist Alex James, Eddie the Eagle, astronaut Helen Sharman and Gladiator Jodie Ounsley will headline Northumbrian Water’s tenth Innovation Festival next month.
The milestone event - which seeks to tackle challenges such as environmental protection and water scarcity - will see the well-known personalities joining festival attendees for a series of inspirational live talks, meet and greets and Q&A sessions at Newcastle Racecourse between July 6-9. Over 3,000 people are expected to attend the event. It’s free - and you can register here.
Business bites
Plans for a 152-bedroom four-star hotel overlooking Durham’s cricket ground at Chester-le-Street have been backed for approval. The six-storey development would include a bar and restaurant, meeting spaces, a small club shop and a tiered seating terrace overlooking the ground. The new leader of Newcastle City Council is not going to be rushed into abolishing the Late Night Levy on hospitality businesses. Colin Ferguson said he is “sceptical” about the charge but will await the outcome of a consultation started by the previous administration. Tekmar Group has reported a strong first half performance. The Newton-Aycliffe company has a healthy order book and and expects trading momentum to continue, despite events in the Middle East causing disruption to some projects. Hedgehog lab co-founder Sarat Pediredla has joined forces with former chief technology officer Alan Morris to launch LevelFive, an AI-native digital product studio offering fixed prices to clients. NEL has secured £21.5m of new capital from British Business Bank to expand its support for established companies with high-growth potential across the region. North East accountancy and business advisory firm RMT is expanding its presence in the south with a new London office and plans to grow its specialist recovery services. Around 650 surgeons and advanced health practitioners from across Britain will gather at the Glasshouse for the three-day British Elbow & Shoulder Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting which begins on Wednesday.
2026 ad break
No, it’s not a misprint. This is an ad from 2026, released this very week in fact - the first TV ad from Hawkstone, the beer brand closely associated with Jeremy Clarkson and his Diddly Squat Farm.
Hawkstone Brewery makes a virtue of supporting British farmers. Their major advertising push features Clarkson and Kaled Cooper and it comes in the same week that the last episode of Clarkson’s Farm was aired - in which the presenter revealed that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Thankfully, he had an early diagnosis.
Advertising beer is one thing - and the ad is very good - but advertising the fact that prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men and that more people should get checked out is much more important.
THE WIDER VIEW
Obscene wealth
Now that Elon Musk is the world’s first trillionaire, it’s worth trying to get your head around quite how large a number a trillion is. Ben Cohen in The Wall Street Journal says one way of thinking about it is time. If you go back a million seconds then it’s only two weeks ago. Go back a billion seconds and it’s 1994. Go back a trillion - and you’re back in the Ice Age.
To put it another way: Jeff Bezos is not short of a bob or two. The Amazon founder is said to be worth around $250 billion. Incredibly, that means that the average American is closer to Jeff Bezos in net worth than Bezos is to Musk.
Isn’t it obscene that one man can have so much wealth - especially when he and his companies pay so little tax.
Crooks can breathe easier
Investigative journalist Roger Cook, the TV reporter credited with inventing the doorstep interview technique, has died peacefully after a short illness. He was 83.
Cook, who won a Bafta special award for “25 years of outstanding quality investigative reporting”, was hospitalised around 30 times as he took beatings and bruises during his attempts to tackle injustice and stand up for victims of crime.
His work exposed child abuse, Northern Ireland protection rackets and baby trading in Brazil, as well as the illicit ivory trade and the Russian black market in weapons-grade plutonium. He also investigated illegal immigration, war criminals in Bosnia and terrorism - including those behind the September 11 attacks in New York.
The video above is from The Cook Report in 1987, one of his early programmes for ITV where he travelled to Spain to confront several people who had fled to the so-called Costa Del Crime.
It was a bit of a surprise to see 60s pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich on there - but they weren’t among the baddies being pursued by the intrepid Roger. If you get a spare 25 minutes then it’s definitely worth a look.
Interesting stuff as always, I'm not sure what the solution to the low attainment of White working class kids is, it's going to need a lot of time and investment. It'll also need to overcome the crab bucket mentality we often see, any sign of intellectual curiosity and you're labelled posh not a proper cheery cheeky thick a mince Geordie as the media likes to portray everyone