“End of an era” is an overused phrase. It is something of an understatement when applied to Sir Howard Bernstein’s decision to retire.
His departure from Manchester City Council will bring to an end one of the most remarkable periods of local authority leadership.
Bernstein’s is a remarkable story, and one frequently told. He joined the council as a junior clerk 45 years ago, became chief executive in 1998 and has changed the face of the city. He has delivered regeneration, infrastructure and staged set-piece events on a scale that has made Manchester admired globally.
The recovery from the IRA bomb is one of his enduring legacies but the £400m regeneration of Hulme and Moss Side was transformative too. He was at the heart of Manchester airport’s success and also of Metrolink’s. And you could argue – indeed Bernstein has – that without Manchester’s failed bid to host the 2000 Olympics and its successful staging of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, London would never have won the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
It is that last point that hints at Bernstein’s real legacy. Where he has led, others have sought to follow. And if there is a headline reason for his success, it has been his consistent delivery of successful partnerships.
Foremost among these has been with his council leader Sir Richard Leese, another city stalwart who has held office for two years more than Bernstein. No government partnership has lasted so long. Few have delivered so much.
More remarkable has been how Bernstein has been able to work with others who, on the surface at least, might appear less politically aligned. Developers – local and national – crave the opportunity to work with him; many bemoan the fact that there are not more Bernsteins in local government. George Osborne has been an even more unlikely ally.
It was Bernstein’s competence, pragmatism and track record of delivery that persuaded the former chancellor of the exchequer that local government could be trusted with devolved power.
DevoManc was never going to deliver all that Bernstein would have liked, but it was and remains a more comprehensive package than any other local authority has secured.
Is the timing of his announcement a surprise? Not really. With a new mayor to be voted in next year – probably former Labour health secretary Andy Burnham – the city’s governance was set to change anyway. And at 63, Bernstein still has plenty more to offer in and beyond the North West. Osborne was set to launch a Northern Powerhouse think tank as Estates Gazette went to press and it would be a surprise if he had not sought Bernstein’s support.
But his ambition may not be confined to his home city. Don’t forget that in 2012 when Westminster City Council established an independent commission to drive growth in London’s West End, they invited Bernstein to chair. (For what it’s worth, the commission recommended an extended weekend Tube service, electric buses and more traffic-free days, all of which have come to pass.) Make no mistake: Bernstein will be in demand nationwide.
And what of Manchester itself? With such firm leadership for so long, the culture created by Bernstein and Leese will endure. Developers and investors, from Altrincham to Abu Dhabi – another of Bernstein’s successes has been drawing large-scale inward investment beyond the M25 – will want to be reassured of that.
It was already another banner week for Manchester with the launch of Osborne’s think tank, Estates Gazette’s Question Time and the launch of Manchester’s MIPIM 2017 programme already slated for Thursday and Friday.
Bernstein’s announcement makes planning for the years ahead even more important.
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