So what has the new prime minister got in store for the North's big cities? Tory Michael Heseltine thinks elected mayors, with a whole range of new powers, should preside over extended cities, based on places such as Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester. Hezza is a big beast, but probably, this is his last appearance at the watering hole of political debate. It's Gordon Brown, and his pride of younger lions, who can make a difference to our big cities… if they want to. For Tony Blair, sorting out the governance of England at local and regional level was a second order matter. The result? Chaos and bitterness over new unitaries, and uncertainty over what powers city regions should have. Mr Heseltine takes a great interest in local government. He's almost unique in that, among those who have held high office, most have preferred to avoid the complexities of the town hall. Let's hope the new PM doesn't follow that path, because there is an urgent need to sort out the governance of our northern cities. Mr Heseltine's first foray into that area came in Liverpool in the early 1980s, with a development corporation and garden festival. I was in that city last week for a conference organised by Downtown Liverpool In Business. Former minister and Knowsley MP, George Howarth, illustrated the current situation on Merseyside. Five councils, each singing from a different hymn sheet, had killed off a tram project. The small unitary council of Halton had to bear the burden of promoting a new Mersey crossing, vital to the whole sub-region. Will Mr Brown give wide-ranging powers to our city regions under powerful mayors? Or will he adopt the cautious approach, favoured by his close confidants Ed Balls and John Healey? The northern cities, and some beyond, need an answer, prime minister.
