The long-awaited Moss Missives 2009 Review - Part One
It's that time of the year. Everyone's doing it, and I'm nothing if not stunningly unoriginal so here is part one of the Moss Missives Review of the Political Year in the North East and Cumbria.
In seasonal spirit I insist you read it with a mouthful of Christmas Pudding, turkey and an After Eight (other chocolate-covered mints are available, he hastily adds).
January - The year kicks off with some typically cheery economic news. over the next 12 months. And lo and behold in Washington.
Gordon Brown visits Sellafield to deliver some better news as there. The only hitch - any development could be several years away. More energy-related jobs could come sooner though with .
Carlisle's flagship after failing an inspection. And Newcastle councillors struck a blow for fatty food by defeating a motion that would have forced burger vans in the city to offer jacket potatoes and healthy sarnies as an alternative to the usual artery-clogging favourites. 
February - . One woman, whose husband had tens of thousands of pounds worth of shares, leaves him in no doubt about the cost of the bank's collapse.
The programme also investigates like West Cumbria and County Durham. and job losses ahead of the creation of a single all-purpose council for the county. Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson promises the North will get extra help to cope with the Recession, but would he deliver?
March - And you thought coal was so 20th Century. to help meet the country's energy needs. Crispian Strachan, a former Northumbria Police Chief Constable, criticises Conservative plans to have elected police chiefs.
Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin becomes one of the least likely people to have in a national newspaper. for its honesty and self-deprecation. in a local government shake-up.
April - - surprisingly the world doesn't end. There are challenges ahead though as new figures show County Durham had experienced some of the steepest rises in unemployment during the Recession.
The Government is knocked sideways by the . And with some past scores to settle in the papers.
And after last month's triumph, there's a little local difficulty for Chris Mullin. He has to remove a section promoting his book from his website as it breaches parliamentary rules.
If you can bear the suspense, May to August follows tomorrow.
I'm Richard Moss, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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