However, rather than building just any homes, there is a clear case for making at least a third social homes and building the majority in the north by the next election as a new generation of council homes.
But this new drive would also reinforce the north’s green energy revolution and bring forward the reform of a broken energy market towards more localised solutions.
Going forward, a vision for growth based on London, Oxford and Cambridge – the “golden triangle” – and airport expansion in the south-east is only justifiable if balanced by a new deal for the north; one that offers at least an equal ambition for economic, social and environmental renewal.
By setting its face against net zero, Reform UK is turning its back on the north’s best chance of bringing back high-quality, well-paid jobs in large numbers, and two things have happened this week that should give us courage to stick to our guns.
As political and business leaders meet for the Convention of the North, our position is clear: we need a genuine new deal, and soon.
