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Government vs Business: Who should drive the Northern Powerhouse forward?

Since Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle, which included Northern Powerhouse stalwart James Wharton losing his job, many business speculators in the North East have been left wondering what the future holds for the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Should the government slow its commitment towards the plan, many believe that the onus will fall on the North’s business community to champion itself. New research from Newcastle-based branding agency Unwritten Creative supports this belief.

According to the firm, North East business executives believe that the business community should be the guardians of the Northern Powerhouse brand.

Overwhelmingly, 90 percent of those questioned say that regional business should have responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse brand with the same number also believing that the brand can help sell the North of England to international business.

The poll supports the Institute of Directors (IoD) ‘business-led’ initiative, which was launched last week to drive the next stage of the Northern Powerhouse scheme.

Unwritten, which is a specialist in ‘place’ branding, which helps create and implement marketable identities for locations, suggests the Northern Powerhouse brand is a powerful tool that the region has to capitalise upon to achieve a presence in competitive international markets.

Amy Jackson, Director of Unwritten, said: “The further away we get from UK shores the more important the Northern Powerhouse brand becomes.

“Rather than trying to promote the attributes of individual Northern cities to world markets that only think of London when considering Britain as a place to do business, we can offer the collective might of brand Northern Powerhouse.”

Lisa Eaton, Director at Unwritten, said: “The Government has the ability to open doors for the Northern Powerhouse, but it is the businesses within it that are the best advocates for what the area has to offer.

“North East businesses, along with those in Yorkshire and the North West, are the perfect ambassadors for what they do and it seems only natural that they become the guardians of the Northern Powerhouse brand.”

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