Northern Powerhouse

The doors of the Powerhouse are open once again

Now in its second year, the People’s Powerhouse Conference promises to celebrate achievements and find new solutions to ensure better lives for all of those in the north. PSE’s Luana Salles looks ahead to November’s event.

For those of you who don’t recall how the People’s Powerhouse was born, here’s a refresher: remember the “male and pale” panels who were invited to speak at last year’s Northern Powerhouse Conference? Remember how they proved so controversial that many women even decided to boycott the event, picketing its entrance at Manchester Central and advising fellow female colleagues to take a stand during its panel debates? Several politicians, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, described the faux pas as embarrassing, and the backlash was so intense that event organisers had to issue a formal apology as the first matter of business.

But this wasn’t just another fiasco that people shout about and then forget entirely. Propelled by the momentum, a swathe of female leaders responsible for shaping the north decided to take affirmative action by launching a rival event – this time focused on amplifying all voices of the north, not just those from high-ranking suits with stuffed pockets and a heavy dose of machismo.

And so the People’s Powerhouse was born. The first conference, hosted on 12 July last year at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, was unlike anything I’ve ever attended before: the panels were like campaign posters for the value of diversity; keynote speakers were more honest and personable than ever, as if from a world where political fluff didn’t exist; and the discussion platforms were more like authentic conversations than a lengthy exercise in futility and aloofness.

Opening the day, Lord Adebowale – the CEO of Turning Point, but a man whose legacy speaks for itself – said: “This conference is about the future – and the future is often decided by the things we don’t talk about. It’s decided by the undiscussable. The things we worry about, the things we live in fear of raising, and the things that haven’t been talked about are the things that we must talk about today: people.”

Now in its second year, the People’s Powerhouse has evolved to describe itself as a movement: one which exists to shape the debate around the Northern Powerhouse, to ensure that people and communities are at the heart of plans rather than the periphery. Its 2018 convention will take place on 20 November at the Northern Commercials Stadium, home to Bradford City FC.

“Following the huge success of our 2017 event, this year’s convention will continue to inspire change in the north,” event organisers said in a statement. “Our mission is to bring people together for meaningful dialogue and sharing, be they practitioners, policymakers, opinion-formers, young people, businesses, MPs or community groups. We believe that by sharing together, understanding the issues, finding solutions and celebrating the great things that are already happening, that better lives for all of us in the north can be achieved.”

Confirmed speakers so far are as impressive as last year’s. For starters, there’s Edna Robison, chair of the People’s Powerhouse, the Trafford Housing Trust and the Big Life Group, and founder of NHS Networks and the NHS Clinical Soft Intelligence Service – all of which are devoted to improving the lives of people.

Also confirmed are Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council and chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Nazir Afzal OBE, former chief crown prosecutor who campaigns on issues around women’s rights and child sexual exploitation; Neil McInroy, chief executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, a leading think tank focused on social justice and effective public services; and Tony Walsh, the renowned Mancunian writer who will be joining the event as the day’s ‘poet in residence.’

With such a star-studded line-up, the second edition of the People’s Powerhouse promises to be bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.

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