A call for unity

Hour by hour, through the early hours, Britain became a divided nation, with David Cameron's Conservatives surprising even themselves with a majority victory founded in the south of England, and Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party turning Scotland the brightest yellow.

Mr Cameron should be congratulated on winning a second term in power on the back of his track record in leading Britain to economic growth. He had a clarity of message and a statesmanlike image which Ed Miliband sadly lacked.

Ms Sturgeon too must be praised for a starring role in the election campaign and leading the SNP to a transformational triumph. She has proved to be a force which will be mightily hard to ignore.

But, in the midst of the Conservative celebrations in the south of our country and the nationalist euphoria, there is genuine concern for our region – the red jam in the sandwich. To the north, we now have a much noisier political force, clamouring for attention and increasingly hard to resist. To the south, we have a ruling party in Westminster which has traditionally neglected the north as the heartlands of the Labour Party.

The danger should be clear. Unless the north of England comes together with a united voice on key strategic issues, it risks being the loser in an economic power struggle. We could end up as the pipsqueak in a playground full of bigger kids.

In the wider region, that means the North-East, the North-West and Yorkshire join together where necessary. And in the North-East itself, that means overcoming local conflicts over council areas and making transparently sure that the two local economic partnerships join forces work as a team when the greater good of the region demands it.

We need to identify what those strategic issues are – infrastructure, integrated transport, energy, skills, water, digital clout, health, full retention of business rates.

We need devolved powers in those areas to make sure that money is spent in the right areas by people who have a better understanding of our needs. University opportunities are, of course, important but they are not the only option for ambitious young people. Here in the north, the need is for engineers and craftsmen so let us have the ability to grow our own apprentices to meet the demands of the jobs market.

And there is no point knowing the priorities, and being given money to spend on them, unless there is a structure which caters for a truly regional interest.

The election of 2015 has given us a stark choice in the north of England. We continue as we are, fighting our own corners, and get shouted down by the south of England or Scotland whenever inward investment is on the British table. Or we forge a union that ensures we are competitive.

This does not mean another expensive layer of bureaucracy with more politicians. It simply means we have what other countries have – the ability to focus nationally, regionally and locally.

As the Conservative victory dawned, George Osborne was quick to talk again about the Northern Powerhouse. Mr Cameron too has talked about the need to be a Government for the whole country. But, as we all know, political talk is cheap at election time, and that acknowledgement of division needs to be backed up with substance.

It is a hard fact that the North-East has suffered disproportionately from five years of austerity. A town such as Darlington has seen a net budget of £80m slashed by £27m and the efficiency drive will now plough on with another £13m to find. It has been managed so far, albeit with an army of lost jobs, but there is a limit. Only services which have to be legally provided will soon be all that can be afforded – and that does not include things like grass-cutting, playgrounds, leisure centres. With £12bn of welfare cuts in the pipeline nationally, it is the poorest in our society who will be hit hardest.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor must demonstrate that they have an appreciation of the social impact of that geographical unfairness, rather than dismissing it in the out-tray marked "The Whingeing North".

And the Labour Party too must get its act together under a dynamic new leader and make sure that the red jam in the sandwich is not taken for granted, as was the case north of the Border.

It is easy in hindsight, but we have been saying it for five years – Labour chose the wrong leader and it must not make the same mistake again.

The people of Britain have spoken and our country is a different shape today than it was on Thursday. It is not the shape most of the voters in the North-East will like the look of. Indeed, it will worry many of them deeply.

And that is why our region must take along hard look at itself and see that it must change shape too.