Political leaders need a mission. Without one, their political project lacks clarity and focus. Andy Burnham has an obvious one: as a former mayor, his aim is to decentralise and devolve power across the nations and regions of the UK and give its people greater control over their futures. The challenge will be to turn that ambition into something people can see in their everyday lives.
But political leaders also need something tangible as a way of showing what their mission means to the average voter. Past examples might include Sure Start and the Working Families Tax Credits for Gordon Brown, or the regeneration of the Docklands under Michael Heseltine. George Osborne tried to do something similar by committing to Northern Powerhouse Rail to demonstrate his commitment to economic growth in the North. For Andy Burnham to crystallise in the minds of the electorate what his agenda will mean, he should look no further than the Government’s exploration of a potential Northern Games bid.
In the run-up to the Budget, the new Chancellor, John Healey, committed £7m to a feasibility study examining whether the North of England could host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the 2040s. The question is therefore no longer whether the region could host the Games, but what it should demand in return to ensure they deliver a lasting legacy.
Hosting the Olympics could provide an opportunity to rebalance Britain’s economy in a visible and tangible way, giving government departments a common deadline against which to deliver. That would be a much more significant way of fleshing out the Prime Minister’s political mission than another strategy document promising to close regional gaps.
Just think what could be achieved if we had a deadline by which to properly connect Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, and Newcastle. Rail electrification and better East-West connectivity; improved Metrolink links; finally a tram network in Leeds; stadium regeneration alongside community sports facility investment. This could be the beginning of a much bigger programme of investment that an Olympic-sized effort would force Whitehall to prioritise and finally deliver after decades of promises. Each project should obviously be assessed on its own merits, but the ambition of hosting the Olympics could provide the common purpose and tight deadline needed to get them over the line. Regeneration should be the driving force behind the investment, not be an afterthought.
Alongside this, the Government could tie an Olympic bid directly to its offer to young people, giving them routes into skilled work and a stake in the economic future of their communities. Apprenticeships and training in construction, engineering, transport, hospitality, digital services, and event management could prepare the next generation to deliver the Games and benefit from the investment they bring. Similarly, a lasting commitment to grassroots sport and accessible facilities would ensure that local communities benefited long before the opening ceremony and long after the Games conclude.
The important element here is to avoid repeating the mistakes of previous Games. Olympic bids come with huge price tags, and estimates of their economic impact can be uncertain, so the feasibility study should test the proposition honestly. The real challenge for the government is to set out clear, measurable outcomes against which to assess whether a bid would help catalyse their policy goals.
As a Londoner, I would be sad to see the capital not be included in the bid, but the opportunity of distributing a major international sporting event to a region that has been too often overlooked is too good to miss.
Andy Burnham has put increasing prosperity outside the South East at the heart of his political and policy agenda. A Northern Olympics would give him the chance to turn his promise to put ‘hope in every heart’ into something tangible people could see taking shape in their communities. The real prize would not be the medals won in the 2040s, but the opportunities the Games would create for generations to come.