September marked a watershed moment in the North. Leaders from across the political spectrum, the voluntary sector and business all came together in a show of defiance to Westminster. They will no longer go to London, ‘cap in hand', begging for help.

The meeting, hosted in Gateshead and being touted as the largest and most diverse of its kind, was called the first Convention of the North. And last week the convention's first report was presented to Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry