| But beyond that, from the events your Northern Agenda author has attended in the last 24 hours, Labour seem to be buoyed by the backlash in many quarters to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's huge package of tax cuts amid a cost-of-living crisis. Analysis of his fiscal statement by the Resolution Foundation think-tank said the package will see London and the South East "disproportionately" better off than those in the North East and Yorkshire. On average, households in London and the South East will gain three times as much (£1,600) as the latter regions (£500). Northern Tories have rallied behind the radical vision, with Richard Bell, leader of the Durham Conservative group, saying: "I welcome the new focus on growing the economy because it is only by increasing the size of the cake that we can get more resources for our public services." But speaking at a packed-out fringe event this morning, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy said Friday's mini-Budget marked the end of the "brief period of consensus" where senior Tories like Michael Gove aimed to spread opportunity outside London.  Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy speaking at a conference fringe event
And in a speech this afternoon the Wigan MP will promise to lay out plans for "a great rebalancing of power, with wealth, security and opportunity spread across the whole country". She is expected to say: "The people of our country are our great untapped asset. Labour will tilt the balance of power back in their favour, so those with skin in the game, who are in it for the long haul, will feel the whole system pulling in behind them. That is how you grow the economy." Meanwhile this lunchtime Shadow Chancellor and Leeds MP Rachel Reeves will promise to create a state-owned investment fund to back projects which could generate wealth for the nation. The scheme would include an initial £8.3 billion investment to fund green industries, including offshore wind clusters in areas like the Humber and the North East. 
The Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville - who's due to speak at conference this afternoon - was putting his oar in as well. The Sky Sports pundit used a Daily Mirror interview to brand the tax cuts announced by Mr Kwarteng "immoral" and "madness". He said Liz Truss was "taking the absolute mickey out of us" by cutting taxes for the wealthy and declared that having Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister would be "a change that cannot come quick enough".
Mayor: My daughter's at university and I think fees should be cut  Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham speaks with Guardian Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner at a fringe event on the first day of the Labour Party conference. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
The last time Andy Burnham had a speech on the main stage of Labour conference was in 2016 when he was Shadow Home Secretary. He was elected as Greater Manchester mayor a year later and hasn't been given a chance to make a speech at the party's highest-profile platform since. Speaking at a fringe event yesterday, he told The Guardian's Yorkshire-born Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner that this showed how Labour in England was still too London-centric and needed to embrace devolution more enthusiastically. Mr Burnham praised Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for putting himself in a position where "he can lead us to victory", but insisted the party needs to go "that step further", adding: "I don't think Labour's oppositions traditionally have won by default." He also told how his student daughter worked in a bar in Liverpool "to make university work" as he said there was a "significant case" for a reduction in student tuition fees. The mayor asked audience members with children at university whether they thought the £9,000 fees were good value "when you see the way they get treated" and said: "They shouldn't be paying that much for what they get in return."
Your Northern Agenda author didn't have the easiest journey to conference, with most trains from Manchester to Liverpool cancelled due to staff shortages yesterday and forcing many to hop in a £50 Uber rather than endure a three-hour rail replacement bus. But I found my way to the historic Albert Dock last night for Labour's Yorkshire and Humber reception, where a 'who's who' of frontbenchers including Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner took to the mic at the Grade II listed Pump House pub. Shadow Transport Secretary and Sheffield MP Louise Haigh, who led the campaign in this summer's Wakefield by-election, told the packed-out pub that the area's newly-elected MP Simon Lightwood was going to join her team as a junior shadow Minister. She said: "We campaigned on the bread and butter issues and that's why we had the best result since Labour were last in government and that's why Wakefield is going be the blueprint on which we win the next election together as a movement. "We are crafting the policies that we will take to the country and win the next General Election."
Newcastle activists try to stop lobbyists standing as local councillors  Nick Kemp, who has only been in charge at the city council since the end of May, runs a public relations consultancy firm, NKA Public Affairs
While Labour as a party is much more united than at last year's conference, Newcastle's warring branch has been engulfed by yet another controversy. Some Labour members in the city launched a motion yesterday that, if approved, would have effectively disqualified recently-appointed Leader Nick Kemp from sitting as a councillor. A proposal put forward by the Newcastle Central Constituency Labour Party (CLP) would prevent anyone who works as a lobbyist or property developer from being selected as a Labour candidate for public office. Speaking on the main stage at conference, Hassan Ameen, from the Newcastle Upon Tyne Central Constituency Labour Party, said "these two professions in particular create a conflict of interest for the councillor between themselves and the common people". But the proposed change to Labour's rules failed to gain traction among members yesterday. Cllr Kemp, who has only been in charge at the city council since the end of May, runs a public relations consultancy firm, NKA Public Affairs. The Byker councillor told Local Democracy Reporter Dan Holland that he did not view the motion as a "personal attack" and that his business dealings were "fully transparent", while the city's Lib Dem opposition accused Labour of infighting that has become a "complete distraction for our city".
'The North's investing in success, we need government to back us'  Clare Hayward (left) was one of the guests on this week's Northern Agenda podcast
Northern business leaders are coming to terms with the fact that the Government's priority now appears to be growing the economy at all costs rather than spreading equality outside London. What can our region offer Liz Truss now the rules of the game have changed? The NP11, which represents Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) responsible for economic growth across the North, this month wrote to the new PM with five distinct offers in areas like green energy and private sector innovation. NP11 member Clare Hayward, who chairs the Cheshire and Warrington LEP, told The Northern Agenda podcast that the North "has a critical role" in shifting the UK's sluggish economic growth and improving productivity. But she said while the region's businesses were prepared to invest in research and development (R&D) to improve innovation, they don't get enough help from the state. Northern business invests over £221 per head in R&D, higher than in Scotland and in line with London, but receives substantially less in public sector investment – £114 per head – compared to £227 per head in Scotland and £275 per head in London. "And all we're asking here is that we are in a position where government is continuing to invest in some of our essential infrastructure," said Ms Hayward. "That's both digital, that's physical, that's rail, road infrastructure, but also in our skills infrastructure, because we know that we have got the capability to deliver."
Meanwhile, analysis out today by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) suggests foreign direct investment (FDI) into the North has gone up 72% in the last five years despite dropping across the rest of the UK. FDI into the North rose from $25.4bn between 2012-16 to $43.7bn between 2017-21. By contrast, FDI into Greater London dropped 23% over the same time period, from $43.4bn to $33.4bn. Lord Jim O'Neill, vice-chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: "This is proof of the North's economic potential, especially in innovative and green industries. If the rest of the world sees it, then our own government should be putting us front and centre of their growth strategy."
More than half a million on NHS waiting lists in Greater Manchester  Guy Parker was declared cancer free last year, but is waiting for a stoma removal operation (Image: Guy Parker)
The Government warned last week that NHS waiting lists might not start reducing until March 2024 because patients delayed seeking care over the pandemic. And in Greater Manchester, more than half a million people are now on NHS waiting lists across the region with tens of thousands of them waiting for more than one year, as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan reports. There are 521,000 people currently waiting for elective care which is almost double the number waiting before the pandemic, when it stood at 283,000. And the waiting list continues to grow by around 3,300 a week on average. One patient, Guy Parker from the Fallowfield area of Manchester was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in December 2020 after his CT Scan was delayed due to the pandemic, leaving him in pain for months. Most of his large intestine was removed in an emergency operation in March 2021 when his bowels became blocked and he has had a stoma ever since. Doctors declared Guy cancer-free last July, but he is still waiting for a stoma reversal operation almost 12 months after he was signed off for the surgery. 
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Northern Stories  A replica of Waterbird, the UK's first successful seaplane and the only one its kind in the world
- A replica of Waterbird, the UK's first successful seaplane, has made its inaugural public flight in the Lake District. Its take off at Windermere marks 28 years since any seaplane has flown at the Cumbrian lake and 111 years since the original Waterbird flew for the first time. Special permission was granted by the Lake District National Park Authority, including an exemption from the normal speed limits on the lake.
- The Home Office has allocated up to £5 million to support victims of county lines exploitation over the next three years, with much of it going to the North. Hundreds of victims will be helped to escape drug gangs following the expansion of support services in London, the West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. These are the largest exporting areas for county lines activity, which involves drug trafficking operations in which children or vulnerable adults are groomed to run drugs from one city to other parts of the country.
- The cost of Liverpool Council's council tax letter blunder that led to a formal investigation has run into thousands of pounds, it's emerged. In June this year, the local authority incorrectly sent out 10,000 letters to homes across the city regarding how to claim the £150 council tax rebate. It was then forced to apologise and issue new letters after the originals contained incorrect data, thought to be names of householders. The cost of doing so has now been uncovered through a Freedom of Information request.
- A Teesside MP has called on the head of a health trust to step up or resign after a disappointing inspection. Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham has accused North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust chairman Professor Derek Bell of taking his eye off the ball after the Care Quality Commission found the service requires improvement. The inspection took place just weeks after all but one of the six non-executive directors at the trust resigned.
- The Bradford Clean Air Zone will go live today, almost four years after Bradford Council was ordered to draw up a plan to improve air quality in the city. The CAZ, which will see the most polluting commercial vehicles charged to enter Bradford and sections of Shipley, has proved to be one of the most controversial political issues in Bradford in recent years. In 2018 Bradford Council was issued a "ministerial direction" by Government to reduce illegal levels of pollution in areas of the District.
- A far-right organisation has been accused of "stirring up hatred" after supporters gathered outside a Huddersfield mill used to house up to 84 asylum seekers. Supporters of Britain First delivered leaflets to residents in Milnsbridge following the arrival of asylum seekers to accommodation at Stanley Mills on Britannia Road. The anti-immigration party's leader, Paul Golding, said: "We are going to come back and back and back until this place is closed down."
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