Politics again dominates the headlines this week. To be fair, we did have the first Great North Investment Summit and there was a significant piece of financial good news to come from that.
Then there was UKREiiF, or the ‘Glastonbury of investment’ as I suspect it will be labelled from now on. I’ve checked and Glasto is much cheaper to attend.
A highlight for many who attended the North East stand was the unveiling of the short film Built Here to showcase investment opportunities in the region. It’s a must-watch.
The North East’s Kids Go Free bus travel initiative is being adopted nationally by the Government for the whole of August, the end is nigh for the orange e-scooters in Newcastle and work has started at long last on the ‘Ashington hole’.
There’s a young girl from Northumberland who spent a day filming with the Rolling Stones who were then ‘de-aged’ using deepfake technology for the video for their new single. It’s another must-watch.
Plus, the knock-on effect Vinted is having on charity shops, the country’s first yellow top tabloid is set to launch and, in the week it was announced that the Halifax brand will be phased out, we go back to Boxing Day 2000 when Howard made his debut in the bank’s advertising campaign that would go on for most of the decade.
Off to a flyer
The inaugural Great North Investment Summit took place in Leeds on Monday and got the week off to a positive start - despite Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham deciding to wear his wannabe MP/PM hat instead.
As I said in Monday’s edition (Mayors, marketing and money), the Northern mayors united behind a single proposition for investors by launching a £14 billion prospectus which was developed in collaboration with the Office for Investment (OFI) and backed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The star turn was Paul Thwaite, CEO of Nat West who announced that the banking group would commit £20 billion to drive economic growth across the North of England over the next 10 years.
“This commitment reflects our confidence in the North as a growth engine for the UK,” he said. “We can see the strength of ambition across the region, and the scale of projects coming forward in housing, transport, energy and infrastructure.”
He also called for more powers for mayors, including the ability to have more control over public money, citing research that 74% of business leaders agree that regional leaders are better placed than central Government to understand local economic priorities.
Action!
The day after the investment summit came the three-day UKREiif, the “Glastonbury of investment” as it was described last week. It’s more of a beauty contest than music festival, with cities, councils and authorities showing a leg to attract the attention of developers and investors.
The North East made a strong start with Mayor Kim McGuinness unveiling the short film Built Here, which was created by Sunderland filmmaker Carley Armstrong to showcase investment opportunities across the region. It went down very well - and you should watch it.
Then came the announcement that a North East Ports Investment Taskforce was being set up with Lloyds Banking Group to accelerate the North East’s clean energy ambitions, unlock billions of pounds of investment and create thousands of green jobs.
Lloyds announced in January (Eyes & Ears 16.01.26) that it would make £1billion of new finance available to regional businesses. The taskforce, a mix of public and private partners, will coordinate investment across the region and support the mayor’s £140m Green Jobs Plan, which aims to create 25,000 green energy jobs by 2035.
On the map
Northumberland County Council took the wraps off the Northumberland Strategic Investment Site (N-SIS) - a major development opportunity in the south east of the county which is included in The Great North prospectus.
Deputy leader Richard Wearmouth said: “This is a site of genuine national importance, 77 hectares of prime development land, designed to attract global investors and create 5,000 high-quality jobs for our communities.
“With exceptional connectivity and access to the energy infrastructure required by modern industry, N-SIS places Northumberland firmly on the map as a destination for large-scale, future-facing investment.”
Chancellor in a hurry
Chancellor Rachel Reeves seemed to be in good form at UKREiiF where she “announced hundreds of millions of pounds of investment across the North and the scrapping of judicial reviews that slow down large infrastructure projects”.
She also defended the Government’s first two years in office. “We are only just getting started,” she said. “You can’t turn everything around overnight.”
Before you get too excited about the investment, I suspect most, if not all, of that money will be from the creation of city investment funds, announced in March, to support the priorities of regional mayors. That’s certainly the case in the North East.
The Chancellor talked about accelerating big regeneration projects in Durham, Gateshead and Newcastle so that work begins this year - not because she has found more money for them but because she wants the councils and mayoral strategic authority to crack on.
Scheme extended
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has welcomed the national adoption of her Kids Go Free initiative on buses this summer. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the free travel on buses for children this August as part of a package of interventions called the Great British Summer Savings.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “In the North East, the mayor’s Kids Go Free scheme has been a real success story, helping families get out and about. That’s exactly the kind of impact we want to deliver for families right across England this summer.”
Nexus started the Kids Go Free scheme on the Metro five years ago.
In and out
Nick Hartley has been re-elected leader of the Greens on Newcastle City Council - and there’s a role for former North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll with a brief focusing on ‘community wealth building’. The Greens won 24 seats at the election, the same as Reform and one behind the Lib Dems, leaving the council in a state of no overall control. It is the council’s AGM on Thursday next week when a new leader and deputy will have to be elected. County Durham councillor Kate Rowland has left the Reform group to sit as an independent. Reform councillor Danielle Cavanagh resigned from Gateshead Council after 10 days because her “business commitments have expanded rapidly”.
Surgeon loses legal bid
Consultant Amir Bhatti has lost his High Court bid to resume his clinical practise at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
He was stopped from seeing patients when the trust announced an investigation into the care of breast cancer patients after it was found there were cases of missed cancers and unnecessary mastectomies. Bhatti, who is still employed by the trust on full pay while the investigation continues, was ordered to pay legal costs.
Streets ahead
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has tapped into Government funding that will allow electric vehicle owners without driveways to charge their vehicles at domestic electricity rates, instead of paying higher public charging prices. The £1.2m grant funding will be available through the seven North East councils.
The money pays for a charging gully to be installed in the pavement outside the driver’s property, allowing them to safely connect their charging cable from the home port to their car on the street.
A quick word
The orange e-scooters in Newcastle will stop operating at the end of the month - five years after their ‘trial’ began. Operator Neuron said the “difficult decision” was part of broader plans to wind down operations across the UK. Darlington railway station has reopened to the public after a £140m redevelopment which added two platforms to the East Coast Mainline station. The four-year project also saw the construction of a new eastern concourse and entrance, and a multi-storey car park for more than 650 cars. Lord Crewe’s Charity, which rents out 35 properties it owns in and around the picturesque village of Blanchland on the Northumberland and Durham border, has announced a phased sale of the homes over the next few years in a move designed to support its Church of England and educational work. Construction work has begun on the ‘Ashington Hole’, a town centre site officially called Portland Park that has stood empty since 2017. A five-screen cinema and restaurants will be the first stage of a wider £36m regeneration scheme. South Tyneside Council has approved changes to its constitution which bans councillors from using taxpayer funds to buy first-class rail tickets. The new organisers of Newcastle’s Pride festival are trying to raise £10,000 because of reduced sponsorship and the rising costs of holding the annual event. A statue of Brian Clough which has been fenced off in Middlesbrough’s Albert Park, has been taken away by council workmen for repair. This comes after criticism by Sir Geoffrey Boycott which was ably amplified by Paul Goffy Gough. The Dog is not coming to Durham, it has now been confirmed. Brewdog said the lease for its unfinished Milburngate venue was not acquired by the new owner following the craft beer chain’s collapse into administration in March.
De-aging disgracefully
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were 70 when Charlotte Pledger-Lowes was born. Some 12 years later the young actress and singer from Pegswood near Morpeth can say she spent a day with the Rolling Stones filming a video for their new single In The Stars.
It’s not clear from the video whether Charlotte made the final edit, which uses “groundbreaking deepfake technology” to “de-age” the band. Still, it will look good on her CV which already includes playing the role of Lady Grace Cavendish in the BBC’s Lady Grace Mysteries which is currently running on CBBC.
The Stones’ new single is great and I highly recommend the video which also stars the actress Odessa A’zion (I Love LA, Marty Supreme) who required no de-aging whatsoever. The band are playing at a big party. There’s alcohol, smoking and the licking of Mick Jagger’s face involved…
That’s no place for a Lady, Charlotte.
Innovation success
Northumbrian Water has been successful in bidding for £5.5m of funding for three projects in the Ofwat Innovation Fund’s Breakthrough Challenge - a water-quality improvement platform, AI-managed alarm systems, and Printfrastructure, which will reduce carbon emissions by using large-scale 3D concrete printing for wastewater infrastructure construction.
Head of Innovation Angela MacOscar said: “Each of these projects is truly exceptional in their own way. They will all allow us to build faster, react quicker to issues and will really help us to protect the beautiful waterways and ecosystems across our region.”
Business bites
The North East Chamber of Commerce has joined the Become the Bridge movement, set up by the North East Anti-Racism Coalition (NEARC) to encourage organisations to take practical steps to challenge racism across the region. Whocanfixmycar.com founder Ian Griffiths has launched Surff, a business giving sellers a way to track the decision-making process of online shoppers. Singapore-based Sembcorp Energy has applied for permission to build a data centre at the Wilton International industrial hub near Redcar in partnership with digital infrastructure specialist Digital Reef. Newcastle technology start-up Rightbrain AI has raised £3m in investment to accelerate development of its platform which enables businesses to build and deploy AI tools without the overheads of full-scale digital transformation. Essity has opened a £30m recycled fibre facility at its plant in Prudhoe which bosses say puts the facility at the forefront of sustainable tissue manufacturing in the UK. Sage chief executive Steve Hare has reported an “excellent first half performance” with revenue up 11% to £1.26 billion and underlying operating profit up 15% to £326m. Newcastle-based CrowdHouse Energy, which specialises in commercial solar products, has secured 'transformative' investment to capitalise on the growing demand for green energy by increasing the size of its team and strengthening operations. Sunderland-based OnPath Energy is expanding its Scottish wind farm portfolio by signing an option agreement with Wilson Forest Products covering three onshore projects in South Lanarkshire. Independent residential property agencies from Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, plus Newcastle’s Sanderson Young, have formed Centro, a partnership aimed at offering a more joined-up experience for landlords and investors managing properties across the North.
2000 ad break
In the week that it was revealed that Lloyds Banking Group is considering phasing out the Halifax brand from our high streets, there could only be one nostalgic TV ad to bring you. Yes, I’m turning the clock back to Boxing Day 2000 when Howard Brown made his TV debut by fronting the new Halifax advertising campaign.
Howard wasn’t an actor. He was a staff member from the West Midlands who came through the internal auditions and ended up leading the bank’s campaign for nearly a decade - he even appeared as himself in the 2003 Christmas special of The Office.
His debut saw him boogie and sing to a reworded version of the Tom Jones hit Sexbomb. There’s a lot of reverse motion going on in the filming and at one stage he is either singing to a fish or using it as a microphone. Not sure. What do you think?
THE WIDER VIEW
Warming to the task
A report published this week by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) says Britain is built for a climate that no longer exists. Heatwaves, flooding and extreme rainfall are now beyond the design limits of transport, housing and energy systems.
A press release notes: “By 2050, 92% of homes are likely to overheat, peak river flows will be up to 45% higher and water supply shortfalls could exceed five billion litres per day.” The report offers a list of steps the UK can take to adapt to and mitigate these risks, from installing air conditioners and heat pumps to investing in flood defences.
“Of course, one of the best things to do would be to emit less carbon dioxide,” writes Adam Barnett in The Lead. “Net zero by 2050 is not going to be easy, but it’s far less costly in every sense than runaway climate change – a conclusion endorsed by the Office for Budget Responsibility. In March the CCC said the entire cost of net zero would be less than a single Ukraine-style fossil fuel price shock.”
The political parties have to take their share of the blame for why this important subject is being largely ignored - but the media are not helping, he says.
“This is partly the fault of Westminster lobby reporters, who cover politics as a cross between sports and celebrity gossip. Despite the many hours of current affairs TV and radio, and not counting the 24-hour news channels and the endless podcasts, the media has still not found time to clear up whether new North Sea extraction would cut people’s bills (It won’t).
“As for the print media, most of it is actively misinforming the public on this question. Much like the basic facts about immigration (down by two thirds since Labour was elected, etc.), there somehow isn’t time or space for all that boring evidence. Better to talk about which party leader (or would-be leader) has the common touch.”
Tipping point
The popularity of resale apps like Vinted is having a knock-on effect on charity shops. The volume of donations may not have dropped - but the quality of them certainly has.
Used knickers, single socks, old swimwear, items that are dirty and stained, tech that doesn’t work and dirty kitchenware - even an old chip pan with the fat still in it.
“Sixty per cent of what comes into us is not sellable,” Claire Stockman, head of retail for St Luke’s Hospice told The i Paper. “It’s soiled, it’s damaged beyond repair, it’s smelly beyond belief. I’ve been in charity retail for a while now and I have never, ever seen it this bad.”
Louise Dawtry from Mind, who runs the podcast What’s The Chari-Tea?, said: “I think people treat charity retailers like an alternative to just going to the tip. People don’t want to throw stuff into landfill so they’ll give it to charity and the charity can figure it out. And it’s a big problem for workers to have to wade through a lot of stuff they can’t actually sell.”
Nicholas
First yellow top tabloid
Left wing political news website the Canary is launching a daily tabloid newspaper in England and Wales. Given that tabloid circulations are currently in freefall, this is a brave move, says Press Gazette.
“But the Canary has a wealthy and motivated investor who thinks there is a big market of working-class readers out there who yearn for a proper left wing newspaper, which will do things like celebrate Green party leader Zack Polanski and take a more critical stance on Israel’s actions in Gaza.”
“It is priced to compete with The Sun and, as the UK’s first yellow top, distribution to 8,000 newsagents across England and Wales will certainly raise the profile of the brand.”
That price, judging from the mock up front and back pages above, is £1.20. So that makes Eyes & Ears excellent value at just £6.99 a month (hint, hint).