Awkward time to be Pro EU
01/04/2021
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
Sadness for a great city
25/03/2021
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.
A LEP in the dark
18/03/2021
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.
Frost plays with fire
11/03/2021
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.
WILL SUNAK’S COKE LOSE ITS FIZZ?
04/03/2021
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.
BUDGET FOR RECOVERY.
25/02/2021
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.
No Jab, No Job?
18/02/2021
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!
Health reforms: big questions remain
11/02/2021
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.
Europe: Mistakes on all sides
04/02/2021
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.
Pointless blame game over deaths
28/01/2021
The government have made many mistakes, concludes Jim in his latest blog, as the pandemic death toll passes 100,000. But he wonders if things would have been that different under Labour.
Vauxhall car plant concerns
21/01/2021
How safe is the car industry in the North West? Jim’s blog this week looks at the pressures of Brexit and the ban on petrol cars on this vital source of skilled jobs in the region.
Keep North transport plans
15/01/2021
Nearly a year into the pandemic, where are we with the government’s levelling up agenda for the North? Jim’s blog reports on a Downtown event where bosses of Local Enterprise Partnerships cast a critical eye on minister’s approach to the crisis.