Northern Futures Summit: A Summary

The Northern Futures Summit, held in Leeds on 6 November, was part of the Deputy Prime Minister’s initiative to stimulate growth in the North of England and allow the region to successfully compete on the global stage. The event brought together over 300 delegates, including leaders of the Northern cities, key business representatives, academics and students.

The day was a culmination of a consultation period, beginning in July, which asked the following question:

How do we build on the strengths in the North to create an economic core in the heart of the region that can compete with the biggest cities in the world?

Hundreds of ideas were received through the Northern Futures website. These ideas were discussed at a series of workshops across the North, and nine were selected to be brought forward to pitch on the day of the event. Details on the pitches and the outcomes of the audience vote can be found in the appendix to this summary.

The Summit aimed to explore how the economy of the North could be transformed in the years ahead, specifically asking how the region can build on the momentum that the devolution debate has gained to get more control over its future.

The day included nine pitches on a variety of themes along with speeches from the Deputy Prime Minister, the Harvard urban economist Prof Ed Glaeser, and Jim O’Neill, chair of the City Growth Commission. This document summarises the main themes of the day.

You can watch the day’s proceedings in full on youtube.

Videos of the individual sessions will be available soon.

The conference was held in partnership with the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and was supported by Carillion,