Labour's first year: How has the North East and Cumbria fared?
Giving us more power
Happy anniversary: One of Labour's strongest areas. Within days of taking office, Sir Keir Starmer invited the country's elected regional mayors into 10 Downing Street, including the North East's Kim McGuinness and the one Conservative mayor, Tees Valley's Lord Houchen.The PM was keen to enlist them in his plan for economic growth and so far Labour has largely been good to its word, with regular meetings between ministers and mayors.Legislation has offered more powers and more freedom, while more money is also on the way. The test will be if it is sustained, but even Ben Houchen says he cannot find fault in the approach to date.Unhappy anniversary: A lack of devolution has seen Cumbria miss out on any available pots of money. But that could change next year when the county is due to get an elected mayor, which will unlock its own devolution deal.
Getting us moving
Happy anniversary: The biggest boost to that devolution process was the release of almost £2.8bn for the mayors to spend on local projects (£1bn for Tees Valley, £1.8bn for the rest of the North East).And that means Kim McGuinness can now promise a long-awaited extension of the Tyne & Wear Metro to Washington. Other investments planned include trams in Teesside and work on Middlesbrough station.The only problem for Labour is that travellers won't see the results of some of this investment until well after the next election.
Unhappy anniversary: Labour has been less keen on big road projects. A scheme to dual a 13-mile section of the A1 in Northumberland was scrapped in Rachel Reeves' first Budget, even though the previous government had spent £68.4m preparing the route.Talk over "budget" alternatives have started, but it is not the first time a plan for the A1 has failed to come to fruition.Cumbrian campaigners are also still waiting to find out the fate of the £1.4bn plan to upgrade the remaining single carriageway sections of the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith. It has been officially paused with a decision apparently imminent.
Making us healthier
Happy anniversary: The latest waiting list figures had some encouraging news. Since Labour came to power the numbers on the list in the North East and Yorkshire regional NHS area have fallen by more than 19,000.Unhappy anniversary: There is a long way to go if Labour is to meet its election target of 92% of patients waiting no more than 18 weeks. It is a target that has not been reached since 2015 and none of our hospital trusts managed to reach it in the latest figures.Northumbria is performing the best with 79.5% waiting no more than 18 weeks, but North Cumbria performs below the national average with only 56.5% treated within that time. Labour has pledged to meet the target by March 2029.
Making us wealthier
Happy anniversary: In terms of tackling poverty, a 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage paid to over-21s stands to benefit a significant number of people in a region which has the lowest pay in the UK. Thousands of children will also benefit from a decision to broaden the entitlement to free school meals to all families claiming Universal Credit, though that will not kick in until next year. Breakfast clubs in some of the area's schools will come sooner and new nurseries will help parents with childcare.Unhappy anniversary: There is still a great deal of uncertainty about the government's plans to reform Personal Independence Payments and reduce the entitlement for some. Nothing now looks likely to change until after a review concludes next year but, as the region with the highest take up of the disability benefit, any change could have a significant impact. The U-turn on winter fuel payments for older people will mean more now qualify, but of course thousands lost out in the first winter of this government.A decision on whether to scrap the two-child cap on some benefits has yet to come. It is something campaigners in the North East say could make the biggest difference to child poverty, but with the government now searching for money to replace the savings sacrificed with the winter fuel and welfare change rethinks, it may have made the change less likely.
Boosting our businesses
Happy anniversary: There was a welcome in the North East business community for the government's recently-published 10-year industrial strategy. It offers the potential of support and investment in sectors where the region is strong, from manufacturing and green energy to the creative industries.There will be moves to help businesses like Nissan and the chemical industry with high energy bills, though not till 2027. A promise to invest in nuclear power will be of interest in Cumbria and Teesside.There was a big boost for Hitachi in County Durham, with new work to build trains delivering on the prime minister's pre-election pledge to secure its future.
Unhappy anniversary: Some businesses have faced extra costs because of Labour's decision to raise their National Insurance contributions.In Cumbria there has been concern that tourism and hospitality did not feature in the industrial strategy.And the recent decision by a major investor to pull out of plans to develop a film studio in Sunderland was a reminder that no amount of strategy can cover every eventuality.Given the protests over changes to inheritance tax, it is probably best not to ask our farmers whether they have enjoyed Labour's first year!
Electoral prospects
Happy anniversary: Just before July's General Election, Labour's Kim McGuinness became the first North East Mayor and her presence in the region offered a chance for a politician from the party to deliver in lockstep with the government and champion the party.At least Labour scraping home in the North Tyneside mayoral election this May shows it can still win here. And they do not have to call another general election until 2029.
Unhappy anniversary: The continuing rise of Reform UK since the party polled well in the region last July poses a big political threat. Its sweeping victory in this year's Durham County Council election shows just how serious the challenge is.And even if the Conservatives are still struggling, the Liberal Democrats and Greens have also been looking to pick off the party's voters. Next year's local elections offer fresh challenges and, on current polling, Labour's longstanding command of the councils in Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead could well be over.
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