A new partnership of metro mayors across northern England has launched to attract investment into the region’s high-growth sectors, aiming to drive job creation, infrastructure upgrades and long-term economic resilience. Known as The Great North, the initiative is being led by North East mayor Kim McGuinness and officially launched at the UKREiiF investment summit in Leeds. It has the backing of central government and all seven of the North’s metro mayors.
The partnership will coordinate international trade missions focused on pan-northern investment propositions and host a Northern Investment Summit to showcase opportunities to global investors. Its focus areas include clean energy, defence, advanced manufacturing and creative industries, vital to the region’s competitiveness in a shifting global economy.
Among the advanced investment narratives is the creation of a clean energy coast along the eastern seaboard, which already generates half of England’s renewable power. There are plans to connect key cities and industrial hubs through the Northern Arc, supported by infrastructure projects such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade and the proposed Liverpool-Manchester Railway. The partnership also aims to capitalise on the region’s strength in national security-related sectors through a Northern Security Corridor linking Cumbria, Lancashire, and the North East, where defence, engineering, and cyber capabilities are concentrated.
In manufacturing, the group is promoting the development of advanced materials corridors between Greater Manchester, Yorkshire, the North East, and Tees Valley. It also supports One Creative North, a programme designed to expand the North’s cultural economy and attract inward investment into film, digital media, and design.
A forthcoming report from the group claims that, with the right level of targeted investment, the North could contribute £118 billion to the UK’s GDP. The partnership argues that the North is uniquely positioned to support national goals around energy security, economic growth, and global competitiveness.
