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The omens could hardly be better for Middlesbrough mayor Chris Cooke as he takes over from former long-serving Barnsley MBC leader Sir Stephen Houghton as the chair of SIGOMA. Most would agree that Sir Stephen's final significant achievement was to get government to improve funding for northern authorities that had felt particularly hard done by during the years of austerity.Now his successor is preparing to build on that work with a new Prime Minister even more focused on reviving the fortunes of the North. And Cooke is full of optimism for what can be achieved.‘If someone had said to me that we would have got fair funding, I never would have believed it,' he admits as we meet on the fringes of the Local Government Association's annual conference in Bournemouth.As a new mayor he says officers warned him to ‘disregard' fair funding because they thought it would never happen.‘That is a political game changer and, actually, it was a really brave step. But did it go far enough? Probably not. Could it go further? Absolutely. But in some ways the first and hardest step has already been taken and it's a live issue that people are now having to address.‘The cat's out of the bag and it's a case that they are going to have to do something about it.'One policy Prime Minister in waiting Andy Burnham is said to be keen upon is a land or property value tax to replace council tax. He sees this as beneficial to councils outside London and the South East. Cooke is non-committal when asked if he backs this.‘We have to work with them because we need it to be more holistic than it currently is. ‘I think one of the things that's quite difficult is obviously councils have been built on these financial models for a significant amount of time.‘So, there does need to be a fair and orderly transition around whatever comes next, but it shouldn't be the case that those that are able to generate significantly more funds without relying on residents should then be getting additional government support.'Funds, he says, should be redistributed to ‘those who are less able to generate at the same level'.Some question that those living in the South are really that much better off than those in the North when things like housing are so much more expensive in the former. How does SIGOMA's new chair react to that challenge?‘I don't think we should look at it though a financial gaze. When we were speaking to the Mobility Commission recently they made it quite clear that if we just look at the financial then actually people struggling are people struggling, regardless of north or south.‘What is different is social mobility. Those members of SIGOMA councils generally have less social mobility compared to some of the councils and places that we feel should probably have to contribute more in order to make sure we're shored up or should get less funding distributed to them.'Despite the bonhomie between friends from the North, Burnham and his new ministers should not expect uncritical allies at all costs from SIGOMA. The group plans to launch a manifesto in the autumn and there will be an expectation on Westminster to continue with Labour's initial direction of travel.Despite the North's champion Burnham preparing to enter 10 Downing Street Cooke is clear that the new ministerial team need to have a little more in their DNA to truly answer SIGOMA's calling.‘We haven't yet found out who the Cabinet members are going to be or who the ministers are going to be. And that'll be key, because having an understanding of local government in a geographical context is also important, because the two things aren't equal.‘Representing a council that isn't facing some of the challenges that our members face isn't always as equal.'A self-confessed fan of former local government minister Jim McMahon, Cooke says someone like the former Oldham MBC leader would be ‘helpful' because they ‘would understand the climate so much more'. ‘Sometimes you need to live these experiences to really understand for yourself.'Despite the bonhomie between friends from the North, Burnham and his new ministers should not expect uncritical allies at all costs from SIGOMA. The group plans to launch a manifesto in the autumn and there will be an expectation on Westminster to continue with Labour's initial direction of travel.‘Government have committed to moving away from grant systems and individual property funding, but we need to see that realised,' says Cooke. ‘Recovery grant shouldn't be recovery grant, it should be in the mainstream revenue budget and it should be realised like that.There needs to be a recognition of ongoing cost pressures and emerging cost pressures. ‘There needs to be a recognition that with more responsibilities, more duties, needs to come extra funding.‘And we want to be really clear about devolution and the way that's going to work. Making sure that councils are at the heart of the role and that it's not just entirely about mayoral combined and strategic authorities.'

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SIGOMA

A good time for 'Our Friends in the North'?

By Paul Marinko | 10 July 2026

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