| Local Labour members in Wakefield are in open revolt against the party's national leadership in a row over who will be its candidate in the upcoming Parliamentary by-election to replace disgraced Imran Ahmad Khan. And The Northern Agenda understands that all 16 members of Wakefield Constituency Labour Party executive committee have resigned this morning after all the local hopefuls failed to make the shortlist. It was back in February 2020 that Sir Keir Starmer - then bidding to be Labour's new leader - tweeted that the party's selection of election candidates "needs to be more democratic". "We should end [National Executive Committee] impositions of candidates", Sir Keir wrote. "Local Party members should select their candidates for every election." At a hustings event on Sunday, Labour members will choose between Community union's Kate Dearden, who is from Bradford, and NHS worker Simon Lightwood, a member of Labour's national policy forum.  What Sir Keir Starmer tweeted in 2020 about how Labour chooses its candidates
Local candidates including Wakefield council deputy leader Jack Hemingway and Wakefield West councillor Michael Graham failed to make the shortlist. Cllr Graham tweeted this morning he was "disappointed... that no applicants who live in the Wakefield constituency were long-listed for the candidacy, decided by the Labour National Executive Committee". And Wakefield members are understood to be furious Labour's central leadership have spurned local candidates in favour of those from outside the area. The issue is particularly sensitive as the last two MPs, Mary Creagh and Imran Ahmad Khan, were criticised in some quarters for their lack of connection to Wakefield. It's understood that the composition of the selection panel was changed to include three members of the ruling National Executive Committee and just one from the constituency. And there's further anger that members hoping to attend Sunday's hustings are being asked to show photo ID. One Labour member Richard Council, a former MP's and MEP's agent who backed Sir Keir as leader, told this newsletter he had resigned from the party after nearly 40 years. He said: "I believe in local democracy. I believe local people should be representing people in Wakefield. If a party ignores a membership to that extent that I'm not going to be part of the membership." Another local member described the process as "just a complete stitch up from the start" and said: "They've thrown the rulebook completely out the window." The row has gone down badly with local voters, if posts on a councillor's Facebook page are anything to go by. One, Joan Foye, wrote: "This is why Labour are struggling. Unless they listen to local constituents they won't succeed." New powers could allow Michael Gove to sell off Northern council assets  Michael Gove could get powers to cap local councils' spending
Levelling Up Michael Gove is set to be handed new powers to intervene at troubled councils like Liverpool. A 'capital finance risk management' clause included in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which was laid before Parliament yesterday, will grant Mr Gove powers to cap spending or even give orders to sell assets. The clause states that in order to 'reduce or mitigate financial risk, the secretary of state may direct a local authority to set borrowing limits or require the council to 'divest itself of a specified asset.' These new powers will be a major concern for Liverpool Council, Liverpool Echo Political Editor Liam Thorp reports. The troubled authority is one of just a few in the country that is currently operating under an intervention from Mr Gove's department. Last year commissioners were appointed by the government to oversee key departments within the council after the damning revelations of a government inspection report, which came amid a police investigation involving the Cunard authority. Council bosses will be looking on nervously at the new powers the government intends to award itself, knowing that Liverpool Council will surely be one of the first local authorities they will be examining.
North's universities 'better than Oxbridge on admissions diversity'  Our graphic shows each region's share of all Oxford University students compared with their share of teenagers getting three As or better at A-Level. Image: Lisa Walsh
This newsletter asked last week why high-achieving students from the North find it harder to get into Oxbridge than their counterparts in London and the South East? The troubling regional gaps between A-Level and attainment and the likelihood of a place at Oxford University (summarised in the graphic above) came in a week when think-pieces like these in The Times debated whether the admissions process for top institutions ought to change. Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership lobbying group, left a state school in the North to study at Cambridge. And he says many young Northerners "go on to attend our universities which are - in general - far better at attracting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and include a significant number which are ranked globally on offering an exceptional education". He adds: "Young people and those seeking to progress or re-train during their careers should feel that every opportunity is open to them, whether that be degree apprenticeships or more traditional Higher Education routes - all of which are vital to the economy, as the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change pointed out a few weeks ago. "Universities like Oxford need to work harder to make sure that northern young people from less well-off backgrounds are better represented, if we're serious about real social mobility levelling up opportunity across the country."
'Move Parliament to Leeds to bridge the North-South gap'  Journalist Sam Bright and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin are guests on the Northern Agenda podcast
Remember Boris Johnson's suggestion in 2020 that Parliament could move temporarily to York while the crumbling Palace of Westminster is repaired?Genuine or not, the idea never got off the ground. But investigative journalist Sam Bright suggests going the whole hog and moving the nation's central democratic institution up the M1 to Leeds in a move that would "create a new centre of economic and political power". In his new book Fortress London the Huddersfield-born author, who now lives in the capital, sets out how the dominance of our biggest city contributes to the huge regional inequalities that hold back much of the country. And he tells The Northern Agenda podcast that the UK would do well to follow the example of Germany, whose national assets are spread more evenly in different cities rather than being concentrated in one place. Moving Parliament to Leeds, he says, would "cause a vast number of people, journalists, civil servants, outsourcing firms that rely heavily on government contracts, to move to a different part of the country" - though efforts would be needed to avoid a London-style housing crisis in Leeds. "It may be hopelessly unrealistic," he says. "But I'm sorry to say that it's probably one of the few realistic options that we have right now that I think can produce a big bang moment for regional equality in a relatively short period of time."
It's a dilemma facing policy-makers across the North - how much should local economies be reliant on the pulling power of major cities like Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle as opposed to the surrounding towns? And for Tracy Brabin, who this week marks a year as West Yorkshire's elected mayor, it's a delicate balancing act attempting to grow the economy of a region she describes as being "like a mini-UK". Though she says Leeds is the "jewel in our crown", the borders between the city and the likes of Bradford, Halifax and Wakefield are porous meaning people live and work in different parts of West Yorkshire. Speaking on our podcast, she said that while Channel 4 brought its HQ to Leeds, it wouldn't have happened without the pull of Bradford next door. And she says: "Leeds is a really powerful, exciting, dynamic city. And we want to really celebrate that but there are other amazing university towns as well like Huddersfield and Bradford, the best poster child for social mobility in any academic institution in the country. "So every region has its strengths but Leeds needs a particular voice as well within that economic strategy."
Andy Burnham has confirmed that he would be open to running as Labour leader for a third time. The Greater Manchester Metro Mayor said there is a possibility he could return as an MP in a few years and run, once he has finished his second term. He previously ran for the role in 2010 and 2015, but has since gained recognition for his mayoral work in the North. Mr Burnham, speaking to LBC, said: "I have stood twice and so obviously I wouldn't be being honest with you if I said I never wanted to do it. "Who knows. One day I would. I have a really important job to do here - I am in the middle of a second term and I'm serving a full second term. "But if at some point in the future, beyond all of this, it was felt that I could do something to support the party then I would. "I would only go back to deal with some issues that I was talking about before - a fundamental rewiring of Britain is what I would be going back to do."
Extending 'right to buy' will see surge in homelessness  Stockport councillors have warned there could be a surge in homelessness
Boris Johnson's plan to extend the 'right to buy' to housing association tenants would help create a 'perfect storm' for homelessness, a leading Stockport councillor has warned. The Prime Minister is reportedly keen to offer renters discounts of up to 70pc in a bid to help the young people - often referred to as 'Generation Rent – get on the housing ladder. It would be a significant expansion of the scheme initially rolled out to council house tenants by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. Around 2.5m households – or five million people – in England who rent from housing associations could potentially qualify for the reduction. However Councillor Sheila Bailey, cabinet member for Sustainable Stockport, has slammed the idea, claiming it will only exacerbate the current 'housing crisis'. Coun Bailey, whose portfolio includes strategic housing, said: "It's just another blow to the availability of rented properties. If you take an increasing number of them off the market by giving huge discounts it's not something that's going to assist the housing crisis we have at the moment. In fact, quite the reverse should happen."
York being 'devastated' by stag and hen parties  The city of York is a popular destination for stag and hen parties
Stag and hen parties have brought "devastation" to York, the city's MP has said. Labour's Rachael Maskell said homes in the suburbs were being rented out as "party houses" and some local residents were avoiding the city centre at weekends due to the number of parties. The York Central MP said York needed to start moving away from the revelry for the sake of local residents and the economy. She said: "Party groups are coming to the city and we're seeing a big rise in Airbnbs where people are staying, so it's now not just contained in the city centre, it's growing out to the communities where people live. "People are buying up housing stock, cash in hand, so the chance for first-time buyers trying to get their house is disappearing and it's pushing up the market price." Rebecca Hill, managing director of the Galtres Lodge Hotel and chair of Indie York, an independent business association which supports more than 200 businesses in the city, told the BBC: "A sweeping statement of there being 'devastation' probably isn't reflective of everyone in the city."
Northern police force 'unlikely' to recover from austerity  Kim McGuinness, Labour's crime commissioner for Northumbria
Northumbria Police has lost 1,100 police officers since the start of austerity – and it is unlikely all of them will be replaced despite recent recruitment drives. That was the view of the force's Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, who was speaking at a meeting of Tynedale Local Area Committee this week. Ms McGuinness was outlining the priorities of Northumbria Police in Tynedale, while also facing questions from the area's representatives on Northumberland County Council. She told members that policing numbers had been cut over the past decade and despite the recruitment of new officers, the numbers are unlikely to ever reach the same heights. It means greater focus on preventing crime – as outlined in the commissioner's "Fighting Crime, Preventing Crime" plan revealed last year. She said: "Northumbria has lost 1,100 officers since the start of austerity and we have only had half of those back. We have to have a big focus on prevention. "There is never an excuse for crime, but if we leave young people without jobs or youth services, we're letting them down. If you live in an area with no good jobs you're more likely to be a victim of crime." 
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  Plan of the Amazon warehouse that could be built near Cleckheaton
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People living close to the site of a proposed massive Amazon fulfilment centre at Scholes near Cleckheaton say they haven't been invited to a drop-in event being hosted by consultants for the scheme. The snub has led to cries of foul from the campaign group Save Our Spen, which has vociferously opposed the project. Plans to build a giant warehouse on 59 acres of sloping farmland close to junction 26 of the M62 motorway emerged last year. Online giant Amazon was confirmed as the company behind the contentious proposals in March. -
England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has been told about East Lancashire's concerns that health inequalities contribute to the coronavirus pandemic locally. On a recent visit to Blackburn with Darwen he met the council's senior leadership team to discuss the issues which lay behind the borough regularly recording some of the highest rates of Covid-19 in the country. Prof Whitty met with Blackburn with Darwen Council Chief Executive Denise Park and discussed the impact of deprivation, the rising cost of living, and poor housing. -
More than 13,000 homes could be built on the Wirral between now and 2037, in plans which would transform the borough. Wirral Council has produced a draft Local Plan which includes proposals to make Birkenhead look completely different, ensure the borough tackles climate change and creates more jobs in some of its poorest areas. Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral Council, said: "This will be a framework that will take Wirral forward as a greener and more prosperous place to live and work." 
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