[9] In September 2016, one of the main architects of the Northern Powerhouse project, Lord O'Neill, resigned from the Government and quit the Conservative benches in the upper house.
[11] In June 2015, the government suspended electrification of the Midland Main Line from London to Sheffield, and the TransPennine route between Manchester and Leeds amid spiraling costs and missed targets just weeks after winning the 2015 election.
[22] In March 2017, a delegation of 30 digital and technology leaders from the North of England visited San Francisco, home of tech companies including Facebook, Apple and Uber, on a Northern Powerhouse trade mission.
The trip was coordinated by MC2, a Northern Powerhouse partner, and the delegation was led by Professor Adam Beaumont, founder and CEO of telecoms operator aql.
Its vice-chairs are Lord Jim O'Neill, one of the original architects of the Northern Powerhouse vision, and leading industrialist Professor Juergen Maier CBE, former CEO of Siemens UK.
NPP is business-led and fosters collaboration between places and national government, working together on evidence-based objectives which can make the biggest impact to deliver sustainable growth and to improve quality of life.
Its membership is made up of the North’s leading businesses, including Bruntwood, TalkTalk, Co-op, Mace, Arup, Arcadis, Barclays, HSBC, Drax, Virgin Money and Sellafield.
NPP has campaigned extensively for the full delivery of both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, securing a promise from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February 2020 that "both are needed, and both will be built."
In February 2017 Goole band Sandra's Wedding released an album named Northern Powerhouse, inspired by the policies and political implications of the project.
[31][32] Professor Neil Lee of the London School of Economics commented that while he was "sympathetic to the basic idea", the Northern Powerhouse was "a vague and problematic concept".
[34] Chi Onwurah, the MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central, noted that "without real investment, powers and accountability, [The Northern Powerhouse] can never be more than a marketing ploy with a little money attached".
She said having elected Mayors (one of the achievements cited by the IPPR) did not improve democracy or create better outcomes, noting that it was not the structure of local government that mattered, but the effectiveness in changing lives.