Need for clarity
09/04/2020
This week Jim fears the lock down is here to stay,and calls for proper rules to be in place when the Prime Minister is ill. He also looks at Labour’s new team.
Starmer: Sherpa or Prime Minister?
02/04/2020
Keir Starmer is the hot favourite to win the Labour leadership race on what should have been Grand National day. Jim asks whether the new leader will be competitive in 2024 because of the changed world we are all facing.
Repeat performance by the banks?
26/03/2020
This week Jim asks if the banks are going to be the bad boys in this crisis in the same way as they were in 2008? He also assesses the government’s handling of medical issues.
18 moths of virus suppression?
19/03/2020
Jim argues that there is some wishful thinking about how long this virus emergency is going to last.He argues that firms and workers should be given cash not loans to avoid a spiral into a serious recesssion.
There is a magic money tree after all
12/03/2020
The Tories have found the magic money tree that Theresa May said didn’t exist. But in his Budget review, Jim asks if there is underlying unease in the Tory Party about this dramatic switch from austerity to a bonanza of spending.
Budget might get the virus
05/03/2020
Will “events” prevent the Chancellor from launching an ambitious Budget next week at the start of the Johnson era? Jim also reports on how the towns are fighting back.
Nandy triumph in Manchester
27/02/2020
Jim was at the Labour leadership hustings in Manchester this week and saw a strong performance by Wigan’s Lisa Nandy. He feels it may not be enough to stop Keir Starmer but she is a woman to watch as Labour tries to rebuild as a credible electoral force.
Solution to BBC funding
20/02/2020
Jim’s been talking to the BBC Director General about the future funding of the corporation.He outlines his idea in this blog and defends one of the few remaining British institutions respected around the world.
Cummings the sacker of Chancellors
13/02/2020
This week Jim comments on the shock sacking of the Chancellor, believes we need to look carefully at the government’s rail plans for the North, and urges Andy Burnham to get behind Lisa Nandy in the Labour leadership election.
Action on Apprenticeships!
06/02/2020
Jim reports on growing frustration in the business community about the apprenticeship system. The number of starts has fallen since a controversial levy was introduced in 2017. He has also been meeting the new Speaker who aims to turn a page on the Bercow years.
NO COINS OR BONGS FOR ME
30/01/2020
As we leave the EU, Jim looks back on the opportunities missed by those that embraced the European Vision to win the hearts and minds of the British people for the project.
Will towns be the government’s priority?
23/01/2020
Will towns be the new driving force of the Northern Powerhouse? This week Downtown held an event with one of the leading Chief Executives in local government, Wigan’s Alison McKenzie-Folan. Jim hosted the lunch and reports on her forthright views on the cities v towns debate.