Creating the north from the sum of its parts? Research questions to assess the Northern Powerhouse

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In late 2014, Chancellor George Osborne announced ambitious plans for the creation of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ which would see cities taking control over a greater number of functions in exchange for installing new democratic arrangements. This paper explores those plans and in doing so outlines a number of questions that will be of interest to researchers. This focuses on a number of issues including the ability to develop coherent regional success by fostering city region level development, the governance model of a directly elected executive mayor and how this will work on a practical basis, and the city-level democratisation of key services including health provision.