| It's a curiosity of UK politics that in the upcoming May 5 local elections 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland and Wales will be allowed to vote, but not those in England. And new analysis shows how if that were to change an influx of thousands of teenage voters could be unleashed to influence future elections in the North - and potentially wipe out the existing majority in more than 20 Parliamentary seats. The British Youth Council, in partnership with the Body Shop, this month launched a new campaign to press for young people to have full voting rights by 2024 from the age of 16. Had all 16 and 17-year-olds been allowed to vote at the 2019 General Election, that would have added an additional 347,834 voters to the electorate in the North alone, reports Richard Ault of Reach's Data Unit.  How younger teens voting could have swayed the 2019 General Election. Graphic by Lisa Walsh
Across 152 constituencies in our area, that would have been enough votes to potentially overturn the results in 21 marginal seats - 11 won by the Conservatives and 10 Labour victories. These include Labour-won seats like Bradford South, where the majority was only 2,346 but there are 2,788 16 and 17-year-olds in the constituency, and Bolton North East, where the Conservatives won by just 378 votes but there are 2,292 potential voters aged 16 and 17. In Blyth Valley in the North East, the 712 majority for Tory Ian Levy could have been wiped out by the 1,790 teen voters. Jo Hobbs, chief executive of the British Youth Council, said: "It cannot be right that we have a postcode lottery when it comes to participating in such an important democratic right." Voting at 18 remains the norm across the overwhelming majority of the democratic world, with opponents saying that because 16 and 17-year-olds are largely still at school they are less likely to fully understand the issues. There's also a more pragmatic reason why many likely oppose allowing younger teenagers to vote. In the 2019 election, a study by YouGov suggested that 56% of those aged 18 to 25 voted for Labour and 21% for the Conservatives, a very different result to the country as a whole. 
Levelling up: The case for action on health, skills and the countryside  A lack of government action to improve health in Blackpool is holding back the economy, says the IPPR think-tank
The cost-of-living crisis means we're not hearing so much these days about levelling up, but a trio of very different reports out today spell out compelling reasons for the Government to keep regional inequality at the top of its agenda. The first, published by think-tank IPPR to mark the launch of a new Commission on Health and Prosperity, says a lack of government action to improve health in places like Blackpool is holding back the economy and people's lives. It warns that the UK's deep health inequalities and ineffective policies mean people are living shorter lives, with more years spent in poor health, and face greater barriers to staying in and getting on at work, writes Annie Gouk of Reach's Data Unit. The analysis shows that there are now more than a million workers missing from the workforce compared to the pre-pandemic trend and about 400,000 of these are no longer working because of health factors, such as long Covid, disruption to health care and declining mental health. Half of the top 20 worst-affected areas in the UK that would benefit the most from a boost in health are in the North of England - including Hull, North East Lincolnshire, Barnsley, Sunderland, Oldham, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Rochdale and Doncaster.
Separately the Lifelong Education Commission argues that reversing the decline of higher technical education provision in England could help level up and tackle major skills shortages in the North. Its research found that educational courses offering more practical skills for the workplace are in rapid decline. Over the last 5 years, learner enrolment in HTE courses has fallen by 25% – whilst the take-up of full degrees rose 8% over the same period. At the same time all regions of England have a significant number of businesses with skill shortage vacancies. And in the North West over 35% of all vacancies are caused by skills shortages, according to employers. Professor Helen Marshall, Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford, said: "There is a lack of understanding amongst students, teachers, and employers about what higher technical education is and why it's valuable, and there is a wrongly perceived lower level of prestige associated with these courses when compared to other higher education routes."
 Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales: could the local economy be more productive?
Out in the countryside, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Rural Powerhouse says the rural economy is being held back by a lack of affordable housing, supermarket price-wars, poor public transport and broadband connections. The cross-party group of MPs and peers found the rural economy was 18% less productive than the national average. If this gap was reduced it could add £43bn to the UK economy. Tory York Outer MP Julian Sturdy, who chairs the APPG, said: "We recognise the unique set of challenges that the Government is facing at the moment, but this makes the need to grow and strengthen the rural economy more, not less important."
The thriving city of Manchester is arguably coming closer to matching London and the South East than anywhere else in the North. But writing in The Northern Agenda today, former Trade Minister Lord Sainsbury says it is still yet to fully undo the damage caused by the events of the 20th century. The former Sainsbury's chairman speaks today at the Realising Regional Growth: What next for Greater Manchester? event organised by the Centre for Cities at Manchester's Science and Industry Museum, alongside ex-PM Gordon Brown and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. Scroll down to the bottom of this email to read the full article.
Northern trains 'running slower in 2022 than in Victorian times'  Former Prime Minister William Gladstone wouldn't have enjoyed train travel in 2022
Northern trains are running slower than they did in the Victorian era, MPs have claimed as they called for more investment in regional rail. Blackley and Broughton Graham Stringer, speaking in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, said 19th century Prime Minister William Gladstone would be "shocked" by the state of today's railways, writes Westminster Editor Dan O'Donoghue. He said: "The UK was the great industrial powerhouse, and he would have expected the railways to have improved. However, as the Transport Committee found when it looked at regional railways, the timetables are slower than they were in Gladstone's time." Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders also lamented the state of railways in the North. He said: "Let us look at journeys of a similar distance between cities in England, Germany and France: Chester to London is 165 miles; Hamburg to Berlin is 159 miles; and Calais to Paris is 147 miles. "The cost of a single rail ticket for the morning to arrive by 9am for each of those journeys tells its own story: Hamburg to Berlin is £26; Calais to Paris is £39; and Chester to London is £155. "Travelling from Chester to London costs nearly six times more than a similar journey in Germany and nearly four times more than a similar journey in France."
Recruitment fears as NHS trust loses 2,400 staff in just one year  Salford Royal Hospital pictured in August 2019 (Image: Google Maps)
It's been a tough two years to work in the NHS. But in one part of Greater Manchester hospitals are being urged to improve their recruitment process after losing more than 2,000 staff members in just a year. As more nurses and midwives leave their jobs due to NHS pay rates and seeking a better work life balance, the Northern Care Alliance which runs care across Salford, Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, says the retention of staff is a big area of concern. A board of directors meeting for the NCA was told the trust lost 2,419 staff members over the course of 2021/22, writes Local Democracy Reporter George Lythgoe. One of the largest areas of concern is nursing and midwifery, where the NCA saw the equivalent of one in seven leaving in 2021/22. A report said: "We know retirement and work life balance are the two most common reasons for people leaving, although there is increasing evidence that in more junior posts – healthcare support workers and administrative staff pay rates in the private sector are more attractive as the economy grows post pandemic. As NHS pay rates are not keeping pace with other sectors this will become an increasing challenge."
'The unique and powerful' link between Manchester and India  Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Delhi
In the Commons yesterday, opposition MPs raised concerns over human rights in India after the Prime Minister said on a visit last week that the UK hopes to have a trade deal worked out with the country by October. But in Manchester, a group created to strengthen ties with one of the world's most populous nations was praising the opportunities created by the visit. One positive announcement saw Hero International, part of India's Hero Motors Company, announce plans to add a new e-cycle assembly line within its manufacturing facility in Manchester. The assembly line will produce high-end electric cycles and push bikes for customers in the UK and EU and forms part of a £150 million group-wide investment. It is expected to be operational by August 2022 and produce 50,000 bikes over three years. Shehla Hasan, Executive Director at the Manchester India Partnership, said Greater Manchester had a "unique, and powerful connection with India". She added: "India's initiatives in key sectors including Digital, Clean Energy and Tourism align with Greater Manchester's strengths in these areas and continue to create huge opportunities for investment, innovation and job creation for both partners. Hero cycles is a perfect example of how alignment of these goals has created significant opportunities."
In other foreign news, Eden District Council in Cumbria says it will continue its contract with the UK arm of energy giant Gazprom after carrying out investigations. The council was criticised in recent weeks after it emerged that municipal buildings in Penrith are heated by Gazprom, a Russian state-backed firm. Council bosses were urged to sever ties with the firm immediately in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But a spokesman told Cumbria Local Democracy Reporter Gareth Cavanagh that following an investigation, it has emerged the contract is in fact with a German-controlled arm of Gazprom.
'I can't be Liverpool's last black female mayor'  Liverpool mayor Joanne Anderson was elected in May 2021
She still occasionally gets followed round supermarkets by security, but after becoming Liverpool's first black female mayor Joanne Anderson is now in a position to do something about the 'micro-aggressions' she experiences. And speaking at the Liverpool Against Racism conference yesterday, almost a year on from her election in May 2021, she said "unconscious bias" left some people angry she has the "audacity" to do the job. She said: "People are really angry that I have had the audacity to say I'll do the job. It's unconscious bias on their part, I can see it on their faces. I know that's how they feel – 'Who does she think she is?'" Ms Anderson took over from previous mayor Joe Anderson, no relation, following his arrest as part of a probe into alleged bribery and corruption. She said she hoped other black women would follow in her footsteps. "It's all for nothing if we all go back to normal after me," she said. "I might be the first female and black elected mayor of this city, I absolutely don't want to be the last. Representation in politics is really important."
At the same conference, the equality chief for Liverpool Football Club said the sport has seen a "huge increase" in discriminatory behaviour from fans following lockdowns imposed during the Covid pandemic. Rishi Jain, equality, diversity and inclusion manager for the club, said the "biggest challenge" in the last 18 months had been fans relearning how to act in public. He said: "There has been a huge increase in discriminatory and offensive behaviour, not just at Anfield. I think people have forgotten how to behave.". 
Sign up to The Northern Agenda Has a friend forwarded you this edition of The Northern Agenda? You can sign up to receive the latest email newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by clicking on this link.  Northern Stories  Lottery winner Frances Connnolly at Hartlepool College, County Durham
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A Hartlepool lottery winner who has given away more than half of her £115 million fortune says she is addicted to giving to others. Frances Connolly, a 55-year-old former social worker and teacher who won on the EuroMillions in 2019, has set up two charitable foundations, including the PFC Trust in Hartlepool, where she has lived for 30 years. On Saturday, a gala fundraiser, which she organised with 250 guests, made more than £100,000 for the PFC Trust, which supports local young carers, the elderly and refugees. -
A Conservative candidate who was set on standing in next week's local elections in Manchester has been suspended pending an investigation after posting a tweet comparing the trans rights movement with Nazis. Earlier this week, Alex Bramham, who was campaigning for the Piccadilly ward, tweeted a doctored image of the Dad's Army opening titles - which famously shows the Nazi swastika progressing through Europe. In the tweaked image, the swastika was replaced with the Progress Pride flag shown making its way towards the original 1978 rainbow Pride flag. -
Home Secretary Priti Patel has pledged to visit an East Lancashire town to see for herself the problems of anti-social behaviour plaguing it. She made the promise to come to Padiham in response to a Commons plea in the House of Commons by Conservative Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham. Mr Higginbotham said: "In recent months we've seen an increase in totally unacceptable anti-social behaviour in Burnley and Padiham's town centres – as well as dirt bikes racing up and down Padiham greenway." -
Disgraced Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan advised the government on child sexual exploitation while under police caution, it has emerged.
Khan, who was found guilty this month of molesting a 15-year-old boy, joined an expert panel offering advice on grooming gangs and went on to contribute to a policy paper entitled "Group-based child sexual exploitation characteristics of offending", reports the Guardian. He attended online meetings with the panel of sexual exploitation experts in July, September and November of 2020. -
Cheshire East Council spends nearly quarter of a million pounds a week on taxis taking children to and from school. Figures obtained by Local Democracy Reporter Belinda Ryan through a freedom of information request reveal the council pays for 887 children to go to school by taxi at an approximate cost of £231,959.67 per week.
Local councillor Julie Smith said: "If those figures are right, I can't believe we're paying out that amount and a more cost-effective method hasn't been looked for." -
The boss of a Yorkshire local authority-run pension fund has rejected claims that with up to £73 million invested in fossil fuel firms, it is directly contradicting the council's carbon cutting efforts. John Weighell, chairman of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund board, has responded to calls by Fossil Free North Yorkshire to persuade the board to move away from investing in fossil fuel companies and reinvest in "more regional, ethical and environmental projects". -
West Yorkshire Police say the theft of a blue plaque commemorating a black man who drowned after being hounded by officers is a hate crime. The memorial to David Oluwale was taken from Leeds Bridge hours after it was unveiled in the city centre, close to where he died in the River Aire in 1969. The plaque read: "A British citizen, he came to Leeds from Nigeria in 1949 in search of a better life. Hounded to his death near Leeds Bridge, two policemen were imprisoned for their crimes." 
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 Opinion
By former Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Sainsbury of Turville 'How we can reinvent the North's great industrial cities'  Lord Sainsbury of Turville is a former chairman of supermarket chain Sainsbury's
In recent decades, UK industry has faced fierce competition from fast-growing Newly Developed Countries. In the face of competition from countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and China, many of our great Northern cities have struggled to grow their economies. As a result, the difference between the economic wealth of Northern and Southern cities has widened, and at a conference in Manchester today organised by the Centre for Cities, Gordon Brown and I will be discussing what Northern Metro Mayors, supported by new powers from government, could do to improve the economic performance of their cities. The way to increase the economic growth rate of our cities in today's world is not to reduce costs by cutting the wages of the workforce in a 'race to the bottom', but in a 'race to the top', raise our rate of innovation and increase the number of jobs in new high value-added per capita businesses which pay high wages. These can be high-tech manufacturing jobs or jobs in knowledge-intensive business services such as finance or legal services. In Manchester, for example, manufacturing fell from over one third of employment in 1961 to a mere 5.5% by 2011. However, as a result of strong local leadership and good economic policies, around 77,000 more jobs in private sector knowledge-intensive business services were created between 1991 and 2018. This is a great success story, but Manchester's recovery from the damage inflicted by the 20th Century is still incomplete. The city still underperforms nationally in terms of value-added per capita - gross value added per head in 2019 was £32 per hour, compared to the national average of £35 per hour, with average weekly workplace wages of £513 compared to the national average of £530. If we want to reinvent our great Northern cities, the government will need to increase the resources that go into technical education, transport, and research and development (R&D). At the same time, Ministers should give more powers to Metro Mayors so that they can coordinate these resources at a city level to create the best possible environment for high value-added per capita businesses. Three basic policy changes need to take place. Firstly, greater transport and spatial planning powers should be given to Metro Mayors to join these sectors up at a city level. Secondly, Metro Mayors should be responsible for coordinating the courses run by Further Education Colleges with the labour market needs of a city. The budget for these colleges should, therefore, be devolved to Metro Mayors, rather than being allocated by the Central Education and Skills Funding Agency, which cannot possibly have any idea of the specific needs of, say, the manufacturing sector in the North East. Thirdly, the resources of the Strength in Places Fund – which already exists and allocates R&D support to developing clusters of high-tech businesses across the country – should be increased and the processes for allocating funds should be improved, with Metro Mayors given a greater role in coordinating bids with local plans. In the past, as a country, our rate of growth has been slow because we have spent too much time and effort protecting our legacy industries, and we have not devolved the economic powers Metro Mayors need to create an innovative environment for new high-tech businesses. If we want to raise our rate of economic growth in the face of future competition from the fast-innovating Newly Developed Countries, we need to devolve some key economic powers to our Metro Mayors so that they can create the best environment for our entrepreneurs to build the businesses of the future. 
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