Member Article

'Pale, male and stale'? Are those in power the right people to run the North East?

New research from Durham and Northumbria University academics has found that the North East’s public services are mostly run by middle-aged, middle class people unrepresentative of the region’s population.

Looking at the region’s political structures, local councils, bodies and boards running key public services, the researchers unsurprisingly conclude that the majority of those in power are men although women are more involved than they used to be.

The Report is titled: Who Runs the North East Now? Governance and Governing in an English Region, by Fred Robinson, Keith Shaw and Sue Regan.

Conducted by Professor Fred Robinson of St Chad’s College, Durham University and Professor Keith Shaw and Sue Regan from Northumbria University, the research was supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Newcastle law firm Muckle LLP and the Institute for Local Governance.

The academics covered 100 organisations in local government, health, education, arts and culture and housing, to provide a holistic analysis of North East power and accountability.

Key findings

The North East today has very little clout

Most of the region’s MPs (26 out of 29) are in Opposition. That’s very different from the era of Tony Blair’s New Labour. And London is more dominant than ever. The former regional institutions have been abolished and – despite the rhetoric – there’s been little devolution of power to the regional or sub-regional level.

Local government has been weakened by austerity

This comes on top of a continuing problem of low election turnouts and a general lack of public interest in what Councils do. Local democracy is at a low ebb – as it has been for years.

Politician numbers waning

Although people may not have noticed, there are now fewer local politicians than there used to be because District Councils in Northumberland and County Durham have been abolished. The North East now has 12 Councils led by 770 Councillors – down from 25 Councils and 1,279 Councillors before 2009.

Public service problems

Many public services are run by people who are appointed – they can’t be voted out, so there is little democratic input. In the NHS, the boards of Clinical Commissioning Groups and Foundation Trusts are appointed and that’s also the case with the boards of FE Colleges, Universities, the bodies that invest public money in Arts, Heritage, Culture and Sport, and Housing Associations.

Female increases in government

There’s been a big increase in the involvement of women in governance. Now, 14 of the region’s 29 MPs are women, compared with 4 women out of 30 MPs in 2000. It’s the same on Councils: 43% of North East Councillors are women, compared with 23% in 2000. Much of that change is attributable to the Labour Party’s use of all-women shortlists when choosing candidates for elections. However, most senior positions are still held by men.

Female board obscurity

Many appointed boards still have male majorities – but the dominance of men has been steadily reducing. Even so, boards where the majority of members are female are very rare indeed.

Unrepresentative of population

In other respects, the people who run the North East are far from representative of the population. Very few are under the age of 45; very few are from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds; and few are disabled. Most have professional backgrounds. It is striking that there are far more accountants appointed to boards than people from BAME backgrounds.

Seven of the 12 Councils have no BAME councillors. Two of the region’s 5 Universities have no BAME governors. No less remarkably, hardly anyone running the region’s NHS organisations is disabled.

Unaccountable, undemocratic

Governance in the North East is complex, messy, confusing – and not particularly accountable or democratic.

The report says that many voices are unheard, many points of view are effectively unrepresented. Big decisions about health and education have little or no input from many of the people who use these services.

Analysis

Academic conclusion

So, what conclusions and suggestions have the academics forwarded?

The research concedes that while there may not be much that the North East can do to counter the dominance of London, organisations in the region could do much more to be representative and accountable.

Such institutions need to be far more open about what they do; some of their websites, for example, certainly do not give the impression of transparency and openness, say the academics.

Following this, the researchers believe that boards should hold meetings in public and publish minutes of meetings – as a matter of principle and good practice.

They argue that such boards should be thinking much more seriously about diversity in their governance and how to foster it.

Editor’s analysis

While it’s encouraging to hear of increased opportunities for females in the region, there’s still much work to be done in the North East - as reflective of British society at large.

I see two separate issues here - internal governance and the North East’s position on the national stage.

Many familiar with the makeup of the region will be duly unsurprised with the headlines above, the makeup of those in power isn’t any great shock. Yet, in my opinion, whilst of course a major area of discussion, this worry pales in comparison to where the North East sits nationally.

To me, the North East can often feel like England’s forgotten corner.

With the North East standing as an overwhelmingly Labour stronghold under a Conservative government, devolution opportunities have gone unseized and actually we’re now seeing an ever-widening fracture with the Tees Valley, which accepted a deal, and the wider region. Business momentum is often hamstrung by the powers that be. Too frequent do we see major, national opportunities fall elsewhere.

Moreover, the North East seems very much on the periphery of the Northern Powerhouse narrative. In fact, it’s remarkable that the region punches so highly above its weight when it comes to business and enterprise. It seems only a seismic power shift will ever allow the North East to be spoken about in the same breath as London.

If this report can aid in the further democratisation of the region then we should of course welcome the findings. However, so much more must be done to turn the North East into a powerful force within the wider, national picture.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts. Why not comment below to share your opinion on the findings?

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →