Frankly speaking
SUPPORT FOR A ‘SHAKE UP’ GROWS by Frank McKenna
Downtown Lancashire in Business
I have been a strong advocate of greater devolution to the English regions for many years. Indeed, I have been banging on about a mayor for Lancashire for so long that even I am sick of hearing me talking about it.
So it was good to find myself surrounded by ‘devo-disciples’ when I attended a northern Conservative Party conference last month in Doncaster. The enthusiasm among the 350 delegates for a genuine shake-up of the way in which the country is governed was palpable.
In particular, Jake Berry, former Northern Powerhouse minister and the MP for Rossendale, had a detailed plan for what he described as ‘devo-max’ which included more English regional mayors, greater fiscal freedoms for combined authorities, including control over business rates, and radical reform of the education system led by regional leaders.
He also suggested the interesting idea of MPs sitting on the scrutiny panels of their regional authority – which would certainly give backbenchers a more interesting role than simply acting as ‘voting fodder’ and rebelling against the prime minister from time to time.
Calling for more local democracy is a relatively simple thing to do. Putting an agenda alongside it in the way Jake Berry did is impressive. He and his conference colleagues convinced me that it is ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ as far as the establishment of a mayor of our fine county is concerned.
The question now is, will Lancashire formulate a plan of its own – or will we wait for a government-imposed devolution model?
Surely, being in charge of our own destiny is the way to go. It’s time to start ‘banging on’ about a mayor for Lancashire again.
SILICON VALLEY BOOST FOR EARLY-STAGERS
Early-stage business founders and startups in Lancashire are being urged to apply for a new grant programme spearheaded by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sterling Road.
The newly launched initiative is the brainchild of its managing partner Ash Rust, a native Lancastrian, entrepreneur and venture capital investor.
The Sterling Road North West Grant Fund programme will provide £1,000 grants to founders with promising business ideas or companies - with the goal of jump-starting or supporting each project.
For the next three years at least, the programme will see 25 companies a year supported across such sectors as technology, SaaS and FinTech.
Ash, who was born in Blackpool and went to school in Clitheroe, still has family members in the Ribble Valley and is keen to reinvest in the county.
The 38-year-old left the UK in his mid-20s to further his career in Silicon Valley where he went on to create successful businesses. Today he lives with his family in San Francisco.
Ash says he wants to back the North West which is “full of great talent but lacks access to capital funding” and to support good ideas, with the view that many of these might become longer term investments.
He says has too often crossed paths with “underestimated business founders” in his
Ash Rust
native North West, who might have additional challenges when seeking loans or financing.
Ash said: “As a born and bred northerner, I know that the North West of England has a deep pool of talent and creativity but lacks access to capital.
“Our hope is that initial grant winners continue their growth where Sterling Road can invest multiple times long term. I want to grab this opportunity to give back.”
Sterling Road is a VC fund focused on pre- seed stage B2B companies with approximately $45m AUM (Assets Under Management).
Ash co-founded tech business SendHub which was sold to Cameo Global and is now focused on supporting new startups and “underestimated founders”.
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
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