| During her Tory leadership campaign in August Liz Truss was asked whether she could rule out energy rationing and replied: "I do rule that out." But the Prime Minister's claim was coming under scrutiny today after the National Grid Electricity System Operator said households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages to ensure the grid does not collapse, though it described such a scenario as "unlikely". On the morning broadcast round Climate minister Graham Stuart said rather than looking at reducing overall use, the Government is supporting the energy regulator to devise solutions to provide incentives for businesses and consumers to potentially cut peak-time energy demand if needed. The MP for Beverley and Holderness in East Yorkshire said the UK's energy security is "pretty strong", and he noted National Grid said blackouts this winter are an "unlikely" scenario. But he did not rule out the need for energy rationing this winter when pressed on LBC. He also said he does not recognise a report in The Times which claimed Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg signed off on a £15 million public information campaign about using less energy this winter only for the plan to be ruled out by Ms Truss. The PM brought the Conservative Party conference to a close this week with the Tories' average poll rating drop to just 24%, 26 percentage points behind Labour. Could the words to Manchester band M People's hit 'Moving On Up' - which she came out to her for speech on Wednesday - prove prophetic? 
No bidders for North East's 'decrepit' electric vehicle charging network  A Nissan Leaf electric car being charged. (Image: PA)
North East leaders recently approved a new strategy which said the number of electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the region would need to increase from just 800 to as many as 28,000 in the coming years to meet rapidly accelerating demand. But it emerged at a Newcastle City Council meeting this week that a procurement exercise for a 15-year contract to maintain and expand the North East's charging network was "so onerous and so poorly structured" that it failed to attract even a single bid, as Local Democracy Reporter Dan Holland reports. Liberal Democrat councillor Greg Stone accused North East authorities of a "serious policy failure", telling colleagues that he had been informed more than a year ago that much of Newcastle's broken EV technology tech was obsolete and unable to be maintained due to a lack of spare parts or funding. "A lot of public money and time has been expended but we seem to be no further forward. Months of problems are turning into years." It's now feared the debacle over Newcastle's "decrepit" EV charging points risks damaging the city's green ambitions and council chiefs have been urged to take action to improve the number of functioning stations. Paul Frew, the Labour-run council's cabinet member for finance, said delays to the region-wide contract had been "unfortunate" but that the offer was being restructured before retendering begins. He said transport officials had looked at installing EV technology in street lights but it would be "very complicated and very difficult to do".
'Young keyboard warriors not prepared for Storm Arwen repeat'  Power lines downed by trees in Northumberland. (Image: PA)
In rural parts of Northumberland, there are doubts about whether many locals are prepared for extreme weather despite the devastation caused by Storm Arwen last year, as Local Democracy Reporter James Robinson writes. Northumberland was one of the worst affected areas when the storm's high winds caused chaos in November, bringing widespread power outages, uprooting thousands of trees and disrupting communication. And at a meeting this week councillors felt the public needed to do more to prepare for similar emergencies; particularly those living in rural communities which are in more danger of being cut off from services. Colin Horncastle, who represents the rural South Tynedale ward, said: "What I would say is in my experience, going around the South Tynedale area, there was an awful lot of people not prepared for the weather and certainly not prepared for a storm. "The number of people ringing me saying they had no electricity and no way of heating food – what are you doing living here? The county council will do anything it can in an emergency, but people need to look after themselves. "I'm not talking about the vulnerable people, but people have to start thinking about simple things like having a gas camping stove. There is such a thing as self-help. The older generation were far better prepared than the younger keyboard warriors."
Meanwhile, an academic study has claimed the government's levelling up programme is failing in the North East. The policy, aimed at tackling inequality in the UK, is still little more than "a slogan" according to the Northumbria University report. Of 12 missions set out for 2030 by former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, only reducing crime is "on track" while six are "off track" and five "too early to tell". Report leaders Professors Joyce Liddle and John Shutt from the university's Newcastle Business School said it was "still not clear what levelling up means", three years after it was announced as a flagship policy of Boris Johnson's government.
Engineers of the future 'being syphoned off into finance jobs'  The Northern Agenda podcast features Urmston Grammar principal Riffat Wall and Carl Ennis, Chief Executive of Siemens plc. Image by Lisa Walsh
It's a subject that's troubling everyone from industry leaders to the likes of Major Tim Peake and Carol Vorderman: how does the UK bridge the shortfall of some 170,000 workers in so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) jobs? The question was on the agenda at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham this week and was being tackled by two leading experts, Carl Ennis, Chief Executive of technology giant Siemens plc, and Riffat Wall, the principal at Urmston Grammar in Manchester. Appearing on this week's episode of The Northern Agenda podcast, Mrs Wall said the most popular A-Level at her school was maths and that many students were doing STEM-based degrees at university before being "syphoned off into the financial markets, they're being lured by much more lucrative careers". "So while schools can do a lot, working with employers is incredibly important, I think we've also got to look at why is that in British society, we don't seem to put the same value on certain types of careers or we try to pigeonhole people too much." Mr Ennis, who grew up in Rochdale, said hundreds of thousands of engineers were needed in the coming years to meet the net zero challenge. But not enough young people with the right skills were being produced, or from diverse enough backgrounds. "This is about making sure that we're able to attract the brightest, the boldest, the most innovative, innovative minds that we can find to solve these challenges that the country faces. And to do that you need that diversity of thought which does come from diversity of gender and ethnicity and socio economic background."
'Tactless and insensitive': Hillsborough review launched without telling families  Anfield remembers the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Northern politicians are calling for the suspension of a Home Office review into the pathology at the original Hillsborough inquests, after it emerged the victims' families had not been consulted. On Wednesday, the Government department said it had established an independent review to consider what went wrong with the original pathology report into the deaths at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, and ensure similar mistakes were not made in the future. Ninety-seven football fans died in the crush at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield on April 15 1989. The announcement sparked anger when it emerged families of those who died had not been told of the review, which the Home Office said was started in July. Metro mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and the region's MPs called for the review to be suspended so a proper consultation could take place, reports the Liverpool Echo. In a statement, they said the 'families first' approach established in the aftermath of the 2009 Hillsborough Independent Panel was to ensure the experiences and treatment of families bereaved through the Hillsborough disaster would never again be repeated. And they added: "That is why it feels so incredibly thoughtless, tactless and insensitive for the Home Office to announce a review into the failures of pathology at the original Hillsborough inquests without consulting the families and loved ones of the 97 first."
York's bus plan 'a fudge that won't deliver radical change'  York Central MP Rachael Maskell signs the TUC's better buses for North Yorkshire petition outside York Minster
Greater Manchester's buses are set to come under public control in the coming months, with other Northern leaders watching mayor Andy Burnham carefully to see if they should follow suit. In the historic city of York, the prospect of franchising is still some way off. City of York Council's executive committee yesterday approved plans for an enhanced bus partnership with private providers in the city, which will unlock more than £17m in government funding to improve services. But this is still some way short of giving local leaders full control of fares and routes, with campaigners claiming the move will not provide the "radical" improvements needed to boost services, as Local Democracy Reporter Joe Cooper writes. They met outside York Minster to argue that bus services across York and North Yorkshire - where bus usage has been badly hit in recent years - need to be brought back under local control. Matthew Topham, from the Trades Union Congress campaign for better buses, said enhanced partnerships were a "fudge that would not deliver the radical changes the public deserve". But City of York Council's Andy D'Agorne said partnership "gives the council the opportunity to work closely with bus operators and provide passengers with services based on local needs". 
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Northern Stories  A 3D model of the proposals was shown at a planning meeting
- Early designs for what would become Leeds' tallest building have been criticised for conjuring up a "tired 1970s" image. Developers are looking to build two office blocks and a residential tower with more than 400 flats off Lisbon Street in the city centre, next to the A58 and close to the city's old international pool site. Measuring 40 storeys and 125m tall, the block of flats would be hexagonal in shape and would stand taller than anything else on the Leeds skyline when complete, applicants McClaren Property say.
- A public inquiry into a vast development scheme which includes building a Ryder Cup golf course and more than 1,000 homes on a green belt park has begun. Previous proposals for Hulton Park, close to Westhoughton, were approved by Bolton Council in 2018. But in February the council's planning committee refused a revised plan submitted by landowner Peel, which contained what they claim 'enhanced proposals'. A two day public inquiry held at the Holiday Inn in Bolton, heard that Bolton Council were offering no defence on the refusal of the revised plans after they sought legal advice.
- A cutting-edge vaccine centre in Darlington is set to receive a funding boost of over £10million to help with the ongoing fight against diseases. The £10.65million funding will boost the development of RNA technology, the vaccine innovation that protected millions around the world from Covid-19. The funding will support the launch of a new innovation centre by CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) in Darlington, advancing the technology that is currently under development for the treatment of various cancers, flu vaccines and personalised medicines including gene therapy.
- Liverpool will find out its Eurovision Song Contest fate tonight after weeks of campaigning. The competition to host the showpiece event is down to just Liverpool and Glasgow after the two cities were whittled down from a wider shortlist last month. Speaking on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky yesterday, Graham Norton said that he would be announcing which city would be hosting the competition on the BBC's The One Show at 7pm.
- Barrow in Cumbria could be set to get its first ever Starbucks after an application for a drive-thru was submitted. The branch would be in the car park of Asda in Walney Road and would make use of 'surplus' capacity. "We have got the Costa already," said local councillor Trevor Biggins. "It gives people a choice, there's nothing wrong with that, and a bit of competition."
- Bradford's St James Market could be moved to a former landfill site near the M606 as part of a bid to create a 'Northern Food Hub'. The wholesale market is already one of the biggest in Yorkshire, has a turnover of £50m a year and is currently operating at maximum capacity. But operators Bradford Council say the existing site – off Wakefield Road, offers no space to expand and has signed an 'Option to Purchase' an unused former landfill land at Staithgate Lane to build a replacement market.
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