My half-decent reason for missing the secret santa intro to the office party was being in at the creation for the signing of the declaration of independence of the republic of manchester. OK, it wasn’t quite the ending of the british mandate or the treaty of rome, but all manchester’s ten democratically-elected leaders turned up in bury and signed on the dotted line with a delighted looking minister, keeping us just about on track to become the uk’s only statutory city region before the election. Not that the vote should slow progress, as the official opposition are as noisy about localism as the government. I’ve quickly googled it now, and am amazed at the coverage and commentary. From signatures to…

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Yes, transport again, and yes, inspired by an email (from beyond green) - though I cycled to work for years, and still now bike daily to and from the train station. Cycling won’t just reduce carbon emissions, it will keep us fitter and healthier, encourage us to use local shops and amenities, help make streets social centres again and communities spatially closer, and reduce congestion big time. Yes it rains, as it does in amsterdam and copenhagen, where 55% of commuter journeys are now made by bike. That’s five, five per cent. Most. How do we get there ? Secondly, we need major investment in cycle lanes, to reduce car lanes and city centre parking and our old friend invest…

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My trip home today. I arrived at the station in good time for the 18.55 on one of manchester’s supposedly best lines, to the airport. It arrived its reliably usual 5 minutes late. I got on. We waited. Ten minutes later it was announced there was no driver. A further 15 minutes later it was announced that the train was cancelled. I take the next train to piccadilly, supposedly the city’s jewel in the crown railway station. The 1970s screen on platform 13 is not working, so I traipse to the main concourse to find out the next train – the 19.37. A few minutes before it is due to depart, it is cancelled. There is a slow 19.46 to…

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Met john penrose mp today, shadow minister for business, enterprise & regulatory reform; part of ken clarke’s team. Very happy to say that some of ken’s “europe does good stuff too” attitude has clearly penetrated. John was talking about the thrillingly titled “regulation in the post-bureaucratic age: how to get rid of red tape and reform quangos", and I am happy to report that its prescriptions are largely lifted straight out of the eu’s better regulation efforts of the past years, which, on the whole, are "a good thing". In my attached eu briefing you can read all about sunset clauses, impact assessments and more consistent application – and then you can read all about it again in “RIP bureaucratic…

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Regular readers will know that for a long time I have been warning that it is not deflation, but inflation that should be our great worry, and that the temptation to inflate away our mountainous debt is highly likely to become irresistible. I am not alone. Inflation this month hit 1.5% (CPI, click here for an explanation as to why this is the right measure), which is some way from what the bank of england were predicting earlier this year, just 0.6%. That’s quite a massive gap. The action they took on that basis – quantative easing – is also massive, yet has not stopped, even as inflation has continued its upward trajectory. This gradual rise can be considered highly…

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I am “working from home” – and if I can do done today what I wanted to do yesterday I'll be free tomorrow. It’s hard not to sneer cynicism when I hear people are “working” from home, and indeed I actively discourage my own staff from it, as firstly I think both individuals and the business need a critical mass of people in one place bouncing off each other and driving each other forward, and secondly can you really produce as much in your own comfy isolated space, between breakfast, lunch, chores etc, as you do speeding through a work day ? You’re also burning a whole lot of individual lights and electricity rather than having thousands working from one…

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I was on a stage when gordon brown became pm, and in an impromptu reply told the audience I thought that just like on day 1 as chancellor he’d made the bank of England independent, on day 1 as pm he’d announce electoral reform. In my mind was a powerful speech I’d heard by someone from charter 88 just before labour came to power, which ran the figures of all 20th century elections and showed that despite the conservatives being utterly dominant, in every single election a majority of voters had always voted for the two “progressive” parties. Therefore, all labour needed was one big win and and to bring in proportional representation, and there'd never be a conservative government…

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I was just reminded by an email that ten years ago tonight I held a great party in the very decent little flat I had above barclays bank in east finchley. There was loud music, queues down the stairs, people from different worlds and merriment of all sorts deep into the night. The sender, a good friend, remembers this well as he met a wonderful woman there, and after several trials and tribulations went on to marry her, and have a beautiful family. That’s not all – my flatmate and cohost also got a snog that night, and went on to marry her too. I was about to write that I don’t hold parties any more, but it occurs to…

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Good day today, of fireworks throughout, in a good sense. Was both our bimonthly Board, and also our biweekly senior management team – so pretty intense. As if that wasn’t enough, started with an early morning meet with liam byrne, alistair darling’s number 2 at the treasury, and master of the manchester city region process. He’s a good guy, generally impressive, with a good high-level gravitas and grasp, but equally at home with details and real things. He runs the show effortlessly but subtly, and listens; quickly jumping on things he’s interested in, and moving forward the discussion. One to watch.

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