by Larry Neild
MANCHESTER, Britain, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was Friday named as chairman of a new regional body in England to spearhead the Northern Powerhouse.
Osborne, creator of the powerhouse strategy to tackle the north-south divide in England, will head the new Northern Powerhouse Partnership. The think-tank is made up of regional politicians and northern business leaders.
It is his first major initiative since losing his job as chancellor when new prime minister Theresa May rebuilt her front-bench team after succeeding David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.
Osborne, who remains as a member of parliament (MP) for the wealthy constituency of Tatton in the South Manchester stockbroker belt came up with the idea of a Northern Powerhouse as a way of competing with the London and the south east.
The idea is that if northern towns and cities pool their collective strengths they can challenge the London economic powerhouse.
As chancellor he promoted the idea of sub regional devolution, with directly elected metro mayors, in major cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, backed by lucrative spending powers worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars.
Osborne said chairing the new partnership will now be a major focus of his political energies, adding: "The northern powerhouse is here to stay."
Writing in the Sun newspaper Friday, Osborne commented: "The north/south divide has been a problem in our country for decades -- and no one's been able to fix it. But that doesn't mean it can't be solved."
The new think-tank will be a not-for-profit organization that will supply ideas to help create jobs and raise living standards in the north of England.
