Powering the future | Q&A with Kim McGuinness
The North East Mayor unveiled a £14bn pipeline of investment opportunities at UKREiiF, so Place North East caught up with her at the event to discuss her priorities for the region.
You unveiled the prospectus yesterday, which covers offshore and energy, advanced manufacturing, the creative industries, life sciences, digital defence, and space. Do you have any pet favourites within that, of the industries you’re targeting?
Oh, well, no, I love them all equally. But what I’m really conscious of is that green energy is probably our biggest area of opportunity in the North East. We are an area that has a traditionally proud industrial heritage, from coal and ship building, and now this is as totemic to the future as that was to the past.
We already have the most advanced offshore wind cluster anywhere in the country, and we really want to push growth in that area, because we know it makes sense for us when it comes to creating jobs – we could create 24,000 jobs doing that. We’ve got really great skills in the sector already, but we’re investing in a green energy and engineering super academy, which will help us to grow those skills even further.
We want to lead the way and be leaders in the green energy revolution.
And why do you feel things might change for the North now? Is it just devolution, or are there other factors?
I think there’s a proper moment happening now for the North. I think there’s a recognition with this government, that we need to see investment in infrastructure and get growth in all parts of the country. I’m willing to push that, and to really push for more devolved power to the people of the north, so that we’ve got more control over our own destiny.
It just makes sense. We come somewhere like UKREiiF, and you are surrounded by businesses and investors, and they are going to do the thing that makes sense. Our pavilion, for the launch of the investment prospectus, was absolutely packed, and that’s because people know that it makes great sense to invest in a region that has got that proud and passionate workforce, that has got a great skills base, that has got, the support running through the system, through me as the Mayor, through the Combined Authority, through local authorities, and that connection to government that we need to be able to drive these projects.
So I think it’s, it’s all of those things, but it just makes good sense to grow in the north.
Have you had much attention from investors this week?
We’ve had some really positive conversations. We’ve been extremely busy at our stand with people who want to come and talk to us about what we’ve got planned for the future. And of course, as Mayors, we’ve come together under the banner of the Great North to recognise that despite all of these incredible opportunities locally, such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, culture, we’ve got real power in numbers across the North with the investable opportunities there too.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you give the North East?
If I could wave a magic wand, it would be at child poverty figures. We suffer the highest levels of child poverty anywhere in the country, and there’s two major problems with that.
First of all, it’s an absolute disgrace that in 2025 we have got children growing up without what they need. Every single child, regardless of their background, has aspiration and deserves opportunity, but also, it’s bad for our economy. There is a huge opportunity gap for those who grow up in poverty – if you are growing up in property, you’re much less likely to achieve your potential, and that’s not good for us economically.
So even if you can’t get behind the ‘hearts and minds’ argument, that we should be giving every child what they deserve, then you can see very clearly we’ve got to tackle [the economy], and in order to do that, we’ve got to look at major infrastructure challenges, including childcare. I announced only last week, childcare grants for those going back into work or training, who are stuck at home because of inaccessible or overly expensive childcare. We’re trying to tackle the infrastructure issues around transport as well, and support people back into work who are kept away from the labour market because of physical or mental health problems.
We’re taking action, but in order to get the growth that we need in our region and in the whole North, we’ve got to tackle those major social issues that hold us back.
