Head North

The two Labour Mayors of Liverpool and Manchester have joined forces to write this semi-autobiographical account of their journey from the Westminster Parliament to be Community leaders and advocates for a radical reform of UK politics. For a book that starts with powerful personal accounts of the day of the Hillsborough tragedy, it’s difficult to maintain momentum. But by focusing on decades of perceived economic, social and political injustice they make the case for ending the London/South-east bias they feel dominates our public administration.  If Boris Johnson never managed to explain ‘levelling up’ the job has now been done by his opponents. No wonder Keir Starmer is starting to use the same language. Their ten-point plan is a re-tread of many ideas that have been better articulated elsewhere, and include proportional representation, parity for technical education a net-zero reindustrialisation of the north. Less convincing are their plans to end Parliamentary whipping (good luck with that one!) and an over-optimistic view of what a ‘Basic Law’ might achieve. If there is a Labour Government soon, this may be a useful reference source. Most of all, however, it’s worth reading how the experience of Hillsborough and the never-ending battle against the establishment affected and motivated the authors. It runs like a golden thread throughout the book and makes its analysis all the more persuasive.