The half term dispatch
Which taxes do we disproportionately pay in the North East? How do you get into a university? And when can you next see me speak on a panel?
The warm weather on a Bank Holiday brings out the best of British, doesn't it?
Horrific sunburn, drunken brawls, and…blocking the RNLI from responding to calls because you're too busy having a BBQ on the beach?
That last one happened at Cullercoats Bay, where the lifeboat team - which responded to three calls during the afternoon - had to deal with cars parked on double yellow lines blocking access, and people refusing to move out of the way on the beach itself. The RNLI volunteers were met with “verbal abuse and confrontational behaviour”.
I cannot fathom people behaving like that. This is an emergency service, staffed by volunteers. Get out of the way you entitled bastards!
Maybe we ought to bring back the coastal gallows as a reminder?
Vice and sin
There are new figures out looking at regional public sector finances.
You can look at them as a whole, and see that the North East is a net beneficiary, but more interesting (to me at least) is what we can find out from some of the breakdowns of individual taxes and the revenue brought in by them.
(For reference throughout this, the North East is around 3% of the UK population, so that's the benchmark of ‘proportionate’.)
Firstly, we can see income tax becoming more centralised.
Back in 1999-2000, the UK purse drew 18% of income tax from London, 19% from the South East and 3% from the North East.
In 2024-25, that's now 26% from London, 18% from the South East and 2% from the North East.
That's 25 years where it often feels like we've talked of little else but the North-South Divide, the Northern Powerhouse or Levelling Up. All going well, it seems.
Next, capital gains. That's 28% from London, 22% from the South East and just 1% from the North East.
Now, this is where it gets especially depressing.
The North East accounts for 6% of betting and gaming duties and 4% each of VAT, tobacco and fuel duty. In fact, only alcohol duty, at 3%, is proportionate…but then you can get at least a couple of tins of strong cider for each bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
This tells us a lot about how we consume these things, with what we're paying into the Treasury going above what our regional population would imply.
Newcastle Innovations
I've often remarked to people how difficult it is for businesses and, well, everybody, to find ways to work with universities.
That's not to say universities don't work with businesses - they do, and it's incredibly impactful - but it's more a matter of luck than method for the right connection to be made.
Newcastle University have made an effort to correct that by starting Newcastle Innovations, which looks at how their business and engagement team operates and attempts to be more coordinated about it.
Launching it they talk about being a single front door for the university, and building long-term partnerships.
They point to some significant work already being done - 42 spinout companies, drawing in £90m in investment, and 46,000 days of CPD delivered.
Come see me talk creativity and tech!
On Friday 19th June, I'll be at the Sheepfolds in Sunderland as part of the TechNExt Festival and their Creative Hub day.
I'll be on a panel during the afternoon looking at how the North East can nurture its creative industries and build a fully functioning ecosystem around them.
You can see the full detail here.
I think I'll probably be kicking around the venue for the full day, if anyone wants to grab me for a chat.
It's been a while since I was last on a panel rather than running one.
The last one I sat on I ended up basically interviewing one of the other panellists because I got interested in what they were saying…so pity the poor chair trying to keep me to time!
That's it for now…
That's all for this week. It's half term and I'm half working, so just a short one.
I'm on arlen@arlenpettitt.co.uk if anyone needs me.
Thanks all!