| There's really not much your Northern Agenda author can offer by way of public interest justification for leading today's newsletter with a story about the 12th annual World Gravy Wrestling Championships. But these images from the charity event at the Rose 'N' Bowl Pub in Rossendale, Lancashire - featuring gallons of the quintessentially Northern condiment made at the Real Lancashire Black Pudding factory - are too good not to use. Described as "one of the world's craziest culinary competitions", the event returned after two years of cancellations due to the pandemic. And with the world beset by crises wherever you look, donning fancy dress and wrestling in gravy for charity sounds like a decent form of distraction. "It's amazing to be back and people have come from far and wide … the atmosphere is absolutely bouncing," Carol Lowe, restaurant manager at the Rose 'N' Bowl, told the PA news agency.  The World Gravy Wrestling Championships have returned after two years. Pics by PA, GIF by Lisa Walsh
'We'll fight like hell if inflation scuppers our levelling up plans'  Sir John Hall is one of the major backers for the Gateshead conference centre (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
With Boris Johnson due to leave office on Sunday there are already fears the Levelling Up agenda that helped his party win the 2019 election will disappear with him. And in The Times this morning experts have warned that the PM's flagship domestic agenda could also be threatened by rising costs and inflation putting key projects at risk. As Political Reporter Geri Scott writes, councils could have to hand back money to the government, scale back projects, or fund the shortfall out of dwindling budgets amid fears schemes could become "undeliverable". Yorkshire-born Neil O'Brien, a former levelling up minister, said: "Inflation will make a lot of projects less viable, because construction-cost inflation is even higher than general price inflation. A lot of councils will be looking at de-scoping projects or dropping elements." In Gateshead, where locals want to build a conference centre with levelling up cash, council leader Martin Gannon said inflation meant suppliers were not willing to fix costs and even though the scheme was "oven ready", it could not go ahead. Local Tory donor former chairman of Newcastle United Sir John Hall, said the project was key for regenerating the North East. "We'll fight like hell, if there's any risk in the sense they're going to cut us back we'll fight like hell, we'll be on the streets, this is too important," he added.
Labour mayors back nationalisation of energy firms  Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Mr Johnson's likely replacement Liz Truss won't be revealing her plans for crucial cost-of-living support before receiving the "full support and advice" only available to the government of the day, her camp has insisted. And with little in the way of solutions coming from national government, prominent Northern Labour politicians are growing bolder with calls for more radical solutions. This morning, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said there was a "case" for bringing utility companies back into public ownership to tackle the cost of living crisis. Mr Burnham - who appears alongside RMT boss Mick Lynch at tonight's Enough is Enough rally at Manchester Cathedral - said privatising the firms "is what got us into the mess that we're in right now". He told Sky News's Kay Burley: "When we sold off the water, sold off the electricity, sold off the gas, sold the council homes, sold off the buses, sold that the trains, we found ourselves in a position where ordinary people can't afford those basics anymore." A YouGov survey commissioned by The Times newspaper showed almost half of Tory voters favoured renationalising the energy industry - 47% backed the idea, with the figure rising to 53% in 'Red Wall' seats in the North and Midlands. North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll said earlier this month that "enough was enough" and has called for a nationalisation of the energy industry, a move some critics say will reduce competition.
In Newcastle, local Liberal Democrats say empty shops in the Eldon Square shopping centre should be turned into 'warm rooms' this winter to help people who cannot afford to heat their own homes because of skyrocketing energy bills. Council bosses have been urged to turn disused space in the shopping centre, as well as in public buildings such as libraries, into free areas where Geordies can get out of the freezing cold. The call comes after regulator Ofgem confirmed on Friday that there will be a huge 80% hike in the energy price cap this October, sending average yearly household bills spiralling from £1,971 to £3,549. Nick Cott, Lib Dem opposition leader on the city council, has called on civic centre bosses to fast track local support measures to alleviate the suffering caused by the cost of living crisis. Other councils including Gateshead have already confirmed plans to create a network of warm spaces.
 Merkur Slots recently revealed plans to open a gaming centre on Bank Street. Graphic by Lisa Walsh
There are already five gambling businesses within 50 metres of the former Leeds Building Society Unit on Bank Street in Bradford, as well as some 13,000 problem gamblers across the wider district. And in a rare example of a planning application being refused on public health grounds, concern over the health impact on some of the area's most vulnerable residents has led to plans for a new gambling centre on the site being refused. Labour-run Bradford Council said the city centre had a high amount of people "vulnerable to gambling related harms." Officers point out how close the business would be to services used by vulnerable people, such as the city's Citizens Advice office, writes Local Democracy Reporter Chris Young. A report said: "It is recognised that there may be some economic benefit in the short term, through occupying a vacant unit and the provision of jobs, however figures provided by public health show that the harms associated with gambling cost England's economy £1.27 billion in the year up to 2020, so this is given little weight." Before the plans were refused, applicant Merkur Slots wrote to the council to dispute many of the points and argue that refusing the plan would likely lead to an appeal.
Dad died from Covid after care home failed to tell family about outbreak An elderly dementia sufferer died after catching Covid-19 during a respite stay at a Teesside care home after staff failed to tell the grieving family about the outbreak, an investigation has found. Redcar and Cleveland Council has been told to apologise after the man - known as Mr Y - lost his life to Covid, which he caught at Stainton Lodge Care Centre, writes Poppy Kennedy for TeessideLive. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman says the family were stopped from making an informed decision as the Hemlington care home failed to notify the family or the council of the deadly outbreak. In a response to Mr Y's grieving son's complaint, the council say a visit to the care home "revealed poor recording of temperature checks and lateral flow tests" while an inspection of infection prevention and control measures just days after Mr Y's death showed areas of concern including inadequate use of PPE.
I do...think wedding venue might need a new name  Kerri Harold said newlyweds would not want to pose for wedding pictures in front of a sign saying Beverley Hub (Image: East Riding of Yorkshire Council)
As wedding backdrops go, a sign saying 'Beverley Hub' might not be the most romantic. And a local councillor has called for a rethink of the name for a new facility in the East Yorkshire market town to make it more suitable for couples tying the knot. East Riding of Yorkshire Council's plans would see Beverley's existing Treasure House in Champney Road transformed into an all-purpose centre for local services, as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Gerrard reports. The building would feature a council customer service centre and Beverley's library would move there along with registrars currently operating out of Walkerhouse Gate. Cllr Kerri Harold, of Minster and Woodmansey ward, said the plans were "fantastic". On the name, she added: "I don't mind things like the archives and library being in a place called the Hub. But I think somewhere where weddings are taking place needs a name befitting that purpose. "I don't think people would want to get married and have their wedding pictures taken in front of a sign which says 'Hub' on it." 
Sign up to The Northern Agenda Has a friend forwarded you this edition of The Northern Agenda? You can sign up to receive the latest email newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by clicking on this link.
Northern Stories  Tommy Cannon and wife Yvonne Ball stand with Bobby's statue at Lowther Gardens, Lytham (Image: SWNS)
-
A nine-foot bronze sculpture of legendary comedian Bobby Ball pulling on his braces "with a twinkle in his eye" has been unveiled in his adopted Lancashire hometown. The massive statue, weighing roughly 600kg and portraying the showman on his 40th birthday, was revealed close to Lytham seafront yesterday. Celebrities including Lee Mack - who starred with Bobby in the hit series 'Not Going Out' - and his long-time comedy partner Tommy Cannon spoke at the ceremony. -
A disabled man will be able to use a new lift at his local railway station after he and his foster mother campaigned for 27 years for better disabled access. John Mahoney uses a wheelchair and, with his foster Mum Sue, has led a campaign for the changes at Birkenhead Park Merseyrail Station. This week a new lift was opened at the station as part of a wider £10m accessibility investment across the network. John said: "I am very happy. It means I can now go to the theatre more which I am very excited about." -
MP Justin Madders says he is "appalled" by what he describes as "scant regard for animal welfare" after pigeons became trapped under a motorway bridge in Ellesmere Port. National Highways carried out "structural work to block pigeons in the under space" at junction 9 of the M53 following complaints of "excessive pigeon excrement". Metal sheets were erected on the bridge to stop any more pigeons from nesting under there. But over the weekend it emerged some pigeons were trapped in the bridge, with campaigners urging immediate action. -
A major plan is being put forward to tackle issues around so-called 'party flats' being rented out in Liverpool. Accommodation sharing websites like Airbnb are used widely around the city and can provide increased choice for visitors looking for a short stay. Councillors in affected areas like the city centre, Anfield and Greenbank say there is an issue with a lack of clear legislation at present to control and regulate what takes place with these rentals. -
Train operator Northern has launched a flash sale with more than a million tickets on offer for £1. The discounted fares are available for journeys across the North made online or through the Northern app. Travel must be between Tuesday 6 September and Thursday 20 October 2022. The £1 promotional tickets must be booked seven days in advance of travel. Tickets go on-sale at 10am today at www.northernrailway.co.uk. -
Tributes have poured in for a County Durham MP and pivotal Labour politician following his death aged 85. The leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer has led tributes to ex-politician Giles Radice, describing him as a "unrivalled social democratic thinker" and a "wise and kind man". Lord Radice was elected as a Labour MP eight times during his career: four times for Chester-le-Street and then another four times to represent North Durham.
Thank you for reading - If you have been forwarded this email and would like to sign up, you can do that right here. Contact us: You can get in touch via email - rob.parsons@reachplc.com - or via our Twitter page. 
| 
