The chief executive and Group chairman of Downtown in Business Frank McKenna, and former BBC North West Political Editor Jim Hancock will launch a new podcast in 2023.
The new series will be officially launched in September ahead of the party-political conferences in October.
McKenna explained why the pair have decided to give the new project a go.
“Jim is one of the most informed political commentators in the country. His insight into what is happening, both in the corridors of power in Westminster, but also across the Town Halls and mayoral offices in the country, are first rate. This podcast will offer people a week-by-week commentary and opinion on the political happenings in national, regional, and local government.
“Crucially, our views come without the sometimes-jaundiced view offered through the ‘Westminster bubble’ and, inevitably, we will be keeping a keen eye on the impact politicians and their policies are having on business.”
The podcast will also feature interviews and comment from politicos from across the Downtown network.
Before setting up Downtown in Business, McKenna was an elected Labour politician for twelve years. He served as the Leader of the Northwest Regional Assembly, Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council, and was a Parliamentary Assistant for seven years. He was described by Inside business magazine as the ‘most influential political voice in the Northwest in 1999 and was described by the Financial Times as ‘New Labour’s man in the north’, before setting up private sector lobby group Downtown in Business in 2003.
Jim Hancock has been a broadcaster and writer on politics for several decades. He has interviewed every prime minister from Harold Wilson to Liz Truss, and he has been a Westminster Lobby Correspondent for the BBC and Independent Radio News, holding the post of political editor for both Granada TV and the BBC Northwest. He has been working with DIB since 2006.
To hear the pairs reflections on the parliamentary by-election which took place in the Summer, click here.
