It is the biggest round of local elections ever in the North West with county elections running alongside polls in Greater Manchester and Merseyside for the first time. Will Boris Johnson benefit from his vaccine bounce and how will Labour’s Keir Starmer come through his first test? Jim marks your card.
This week Jim begins a three part preview of the big round of forthcoming elections. This time he has the Scottish Parliament in his sights, with big questions for Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson to answer.
Jim is backing the controversial idea of Covid passports.In a toughly argued blog he claims that businesses that have suffered so badly are entitled to the measure. Opponents will have to pay a price for their principles.
For once Jim is in critical mood about the European Union, but stresses the need to maintain good relations with the bloc despite their poor handling of the Covid crisis
Jim forecasts that Liverpool’s Chief Executive, Tony Reeves, will have a crucial role in pulling Liverpool Council out of the crisis revealed by the Caller Report. However he believes Labour chiefs will have their work cut out to reform the party in the city.
Is there a future for Local Enterprise Partnerships? Some feel they are a vital forum for business to offer priorities for jobs and skills. But Jim asks do ministers share that view.
In his blog this week, Jim invites you to look beyond the troubles of the royal family to the growing problems around our trade with Europe. He also asks if we could have an independent elected mayor in Liverpool.
Jim analyses the Budget of the Coca Cola loving Chancellor to see if it is fizzing or flat. He also suggests Labour have missed a big opportunity to show how they would be different.
Public spending is eye wateringly high, but Jim believes that in next week’s Budget the Chancellor will concentrate on nursing the economy out of the pandemic, with the reckoning to come later.
Do employers have the right to insist their workers have a jab on pain of being sacked? Jim discusses this tricky issue in his blog this week. He also calls for the Labour leader to be given some slack along with the vast majority of parish councillors who don’t live in Handforth!
Big challenges remain for health and social care despite the reforms annouced by the government this week according to Jim. In his blog he also reports on an interesting week in the Downtown Den.
This week Jim claims there are faults on both sides in the crisis over the Northern Ireland border. He also reports on a robust defence of Northern transport investment during a Downtown Den event this week.
