We're only a week into 2024 (what a long week it was for those of us with kids only just going back to school), but the electioneering is already in full swing.
That's true nationally, where Labour have been talking about schools while the Government is distracted by Post Office scandals, but it's true regionally too.
In the North the two main candidates have been talking about transport and the Tyne-Wear derby, and in the South Ben Houchen launched his campaign at the airport.
It was a bit overshadowed by the publication of a set of accounts for Teesworks, which showed a big leap in turnover and profits since the share held privately increased from 50% to 90% for a sum of just £97.
You can read several takes on that story - here's the Yorkshire Post, the Financial Times and Teesside Live.
For a more candid take, keep an eye (‘Eye’ see what you did there - Ed) on Private Eye next week.
This kind of thing (there’s an ongoing investigation due to report at any time too) is going to regularly interfere with normal programming in the Tees Valley, but whether it will have the cut-through to influence voters, who knows.
More likely to get noticed is Houchen’s promise to build a new hospital, even if it’s not clear how.
Houchen’s campaigns always have big promises - buying the airport was first, bringing jobs to the Teesworks site was another, and the hospital is the one that’s resonated so far this time.
With promises like those, the how and the measuring whether the result was worth it, aren’t that important when you’re just trying to win votes - this is poetry, you can worry about the prose later. To misquote a New York Governor.
Migration Advisory Committee Annual Report
Stick with me, the MAC report is always interesting reading. They’re the body responsible for looking at migration and how it aligns with skills shortages, and they make recommendations on the Shortage Occupation List - i.e. the one which makes bringing in outside talent for certain sectors easier.
This year they focus on net migration, health and social care, and on international students.
They don’t tend to do a huge amount of regional analysis, but the international students section has a bit.
So, more than a quarter of the total non-UK students are in London, and the North East ranks right down the list when it comes to both UK and non-UK students.
However, Teesside University ranks 8th on the list for increase in international student numbers, up 4,400 from 2018/19 to 2021/22. That’s a 322% increase…but don’t get too carried away, international students only accounted for 12% of their student numbers in 2018/19, so they were starting from a low base. Several of the London-based unis had far higher proportions - including UCL with 53% and Kings with 44%.
International trade in services
The ONS had some data on service sector imports and exports out this week.
Tyneside is where the region’s exporting service businesses are - 108 of them. That’s a fairly healthy 0.53% of local businesses, which is in-line with a number of the London boroughs.
Other parts of the region do less well, there are just three exporting service films in Darlington, four in Northumberland and six in South Teesside.
That’s kind of what you’d expect given the industrial make up of those areas - and there’ll be exporting firms in those places, just exporting goods rather than services.
As a general point, lifting the region’s exporting ratios is a really key challenge for growing the economy, increasing productivity and creating more robust businesses.
The service sector is a really important part of that, but it’s an overlooked one a lot of the time because when we picture ‘export’ we picture containers and ships and planes and stuff.
What I’ve been reading this week
This Special Report in The Athletic on Maddy Cusack, the Sheff Utd player who died last year. Daniel Taylor lays out how many questions are still unanswered after Cusack took her own life in September, and her family’s efforts to get the truth out of her club and the FA. It is a tremendously sad story, and from what is written here, it seems like there’s more that warrants investigation, transparency and proper efforts to change to make sure others don’t go through the same.
What’s coming up in the next week or so?
An intersectional analysis of disability and ethnic group is due out from the ONS today
Labour market stats (with a new methodology) are due next week, as are house price figures and inflation numbers
Centre for Cities have their Cities Outlook 2024 report out on the 22nd Jan - virtual launch event here
IPPR North usually have their State of the North report out by the end of January too, so look out for that
PMQs this lunchtime
Michael Gove is getting quizzed about freeports by the Business and Trade Committee at 10.30am
The chair of HS2 Ltd is up in front of the Transport Committee this morning too
Working with me
2024 is a big year in the policy world, and I’m looking for both projects and smaller-scale retained arrangements especially as we get into the middle of the year. I know already there are going to be some periods where my availability is really low, so let’s have a coffee and a chat, even if you’re still working things out.
I also just really like knowing what’s going on with people, so if we’ve not caught up in a while, let’s do it.
You can find out more about me on my website.
You can email me on worroom@substack.com or arlen@arlenpettitt.co.uk
I’m @arlenpettitt on Twitter, and you’ll find me on LinkedIn and on Bluesky too.