The challenge now for Jim O’Neill as the driver of the government’s ambitious northern powerhouse is to get the huge undertaking moving at a decent pace.
Manchester has proved its suitability for the role of the anchor of the project with its entrepreneurship and new development as well as the growing population of the city.
The government must now spend on the infrastructure, notably the rail links across the Pennines to Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford. Liverpool, where Peel is bringing significant change through new development, must be brought into the equation and ultimately better links to Newcastle and the North East are needed.
This is not pie in the sky but eminently achievable economic development that would have been fully understood by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the engineers of the Victorian era. High speed rail, whether from London or across the region will surely be part of the mix.
Meanwhile, Manchester rides the crest of a wave of new office and industrial development and steadily expands its regional Metrolink rail system.
All this fits with Mancunians’ concept of their city and its place within the UK which is so apparent with the ambitions of the two major football teams.
Creating the northern powerhouse will spread the entrepreneurial spirit from Manchester across the north and surely inspire political leaders in other cities.