George Osborne has revealed he will chair a new think tank to fight for the Northern Powerhouse.
Osborne will chair the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, whose creation has been backed by the government. It will bring together business and local politicians to commission research, share ideas, and lobby Whitehall to press ahead with devolution.
Giving his first major interview since being sacked as chancellor, Osborne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Politics is a tough business.” But he said he believed he could “push and fight for” ideas he backed from outside the cabinet.
Osborne has returned to the back benches following Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle, and said chairing the new body would “now be a major focus of my political energies”.
Osborne added that the Northern Powerhouse, which he launched with David Cameron as part of a drive to devolve power to cities and regions around the UK, is “here to stay”. It follows suggestions that May was considering scrapping the policy as part of a bid to distance herself from the former government.
Mark Reynolds, chief executive of Mace one of the backers of the new think tank alongside Manchester Airports Group said: “New transport infrastructure and connectivity are absolutely vital for boosting growth, developing skills, opening up opportunity and increasing wellbeing in the north of England.
“The Northern Powerhouse Institute will be the strong business voice the north needs and an important contributor to the future direction and development of the north of England. Our British heritage means that Mace is especially committed to unleashing the north’s full potential.”
