Leeds, a Northern Powerhouse?: An Examination of changing power relationships in Leeds under the Northern Powerhouse agenda

This project analyses perceived effects of the evolving Northern Powerhouse agenda on one of its major cities, Leeds. It utilises interviews with local elite actors and members of third sector and policy communities to examine perceptions of the Northern Powerhouse’s inception and impact. The project will further examine changing power dynamics between local and national government and private finance. This will be demonstrated by using classical power theories, particularly Steven Lukes’ third dimensional power, which allows for impositions of structures inimical to local power to receive reluctant acquiescence. Three key areas of devolution, administrative, political and financial are examined through the prism of Lukes’ theory. A perception of neo-liberal hegemony within local government is discussed and nascent opposition to this hegemony, redolent of overt conflict is evidenced. By using semistructured interviews with Leeds’ elite actors the project helps to fill an identified gap in scholarly knowledge of the Northern Powerhouse agenda.