Combined Authorities and the Northern Powerhouse: Critical Issues and Where Next?

Abstract

The chapter sets out the framework and responses to devolution since the demise of the Regional Development Agencies and Government Regional Offices in 2010 and the slow emergence of two new key Combined Authorities for the North East. It illustrates how fragmentation and austerity are impacting on local government and public services. Taking stock of the 2019 local election results, it appears that local government is becoming weaker and more diverse in terms of its leadership and it poses the question of whether in 2020, the North East will be well-equipped to develop its new economic and social and environmental strategies for the next decade. The region must respond to the challenges of involvement in the Northern Powerhouse and increased competition for investment within the UK and Europe and attend to its widening disparities. This chapter argues for closer collaboration between local government and the private and third sectors to respond to the post-Brexit challenges and calls for stronger responses to national finance and the procurement of new replacement funds for regeneration and development and Industrial Strategy.

Citation

Liddle, J. and Shutt, J. (2019), "Combined Authorities and the Northern Powerhouse: Critical Issues and Where Next?", Liddle, J. and Shutt, J. (Ed.) The North East After Brexit: Impact and Policy (Brexit Studies Series), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-009-720191002