Week Ending: Northern independence starts here; Getting trollied; ‘Lofty’ gets serious

OUR April Fool’s story was a piece about Northern local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) lobbying Government for a referendum on independence.

The premise was that Northern politicians wanted to break away with the riches promised by the shale gas industry. Following Evan Davis’ lead, Hebden Bridge was being touted as the capital, while others were pushing for Tintwistle.

There was a strong response to the piece and a few people even fell for it. One reader complained, “How can the LEPs hope to build credibility when they are wasting time, money and energy on nonsense like this!”

Another said, “this article probably makes more sense than Scottish independence”. And it was even retweeted by the Leeds City Region and the North West Business Leadership Team, which includes an influential group of business leaders.

We wondered if we had inadvertently started an independence movement. If things do progress where would the southern border lie? Are Staffordshire and Derbyshire in, or are they too far south? Answers on a postcard please.

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TENSION is building for a charity bout between Deloitte’s Pat ‘The Duke’ Loftus and ’Sugar’ Ray Stenton from NorthEdge.

The two meet in June in the first of the Business Heavyweights series in aid The Factory Youth Zone, in Harpurhey, Manchester.

They are not only raising money but setting an example to the youth by promising to beat each other up.

In a fiery training video The Duke yells “Stenton!” while laying into a punchbag, and then chases some sheep.

The second bout will feature man-mountain Andrew ‘The Giant’ Gardiner of TSG Commercial Property Consultants and Cowgill Holloway corporate finance director John ‘The Freak’ Fowler. We hope he saw Gardiner’s vital statistics before agreeing to take part.

For ticket info email info@businessheavyweights.com.

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WHEN Vince Cable was perfecting his ballroom moves around 15 years ago his opposite number on the Labour bench was enjoying a different kind of social life.

Speaking at the Manchester Metropolitan University business school last week, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna described Manchester as his “second home”.

He studied at the university but would make the journey down Oxford Road to the MMU to enjoy a club night called Trollied. “I won’t explain the name,” he said drily.

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WE recently received a new publicity shot of Peel Group supremo John Whittaker.

Last time it looked like he had eschewed a professional photographer and gone for a selfie, right, a few years before the term was coined.

Unusually there were also clues to significant influences – a painting of his parents, a bust of Robert Peel.

But like all early adopters he’s one step ahead. Now he’s opted for a straight studio shot at a time when the world and his wife are obsessed by selfies.