ANYONE who has glanced at a newspaper recently will have heard the phrase 'Northern Powerhouse'.

The vision being pushed by the Chancellor George Osborne is of a renaissance for the great cities of the north, such that they challenge the dominance of London and rebalance our national economy.

Of course, that's an idea which has been floated many times before, the two key differences this time are that: a) the package looks set to come with significant devolution of powers and budgets to local areas and b) it's being driven by the man in charge of the Treasury - which has previously been an impediment to change.

Now, some towns and cities will do well out of such a deal. Others won't.

Naturally the question has been asked - would Warrington be able to compete with Manchester and Liverpool under such a regime?

I believe it can - and will.

A key reason is transport connections. By both car and rail, central Warrington is 'closer' to London, in terms of journey time, than either Manchester or Liverpool.

Visit one of Warrington's two stations and you can pick up a direct train, not just to London, Birmingham or Glasgow, but Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Ely, Norwich, Preston, Lancaster, Chester, York, Carlisle and Edinburgh. And of course Manchester and Liverpool.

Increasingly, the businesses that I talk to say that they see Warrington, not as an offshoot of either Manchester or Liverpool, but as an investment opportunity in its own right.

There is a highly skilled workforce here in Warrington, with particular specialisms in the energy industry - especially nuclear.

Over the next decade, one way or another, we are going to have to replace a large part of our generating capacity, so this is a growth industry.

To its credit, the council realises the importance of skills and is supporting the new Studio School and University Technical College which will nurture that skills base.

Never mind Manchester or Liverpool - it's all going on in Warrington.