‘We shouldn’t be talking about warm banks in the 21st century’
‘HIS POLITICS IS UNDERPINNED BY A PASSION FOR HULL’: City council leader Mike Ross, pictured in Hearth restaurant
Chewing the Fat - Out to lunch with Phil Ascough
This week’s guest: Hull City Council Leader, Councillor Mike Ross
It’s that thing again about a week being a long time in politics.
As I chatted to the (fairly) new leader of Hull City Council, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were demonstrating the true depth of their friendship and the government’s commitment to the green agenda by flying to Scotland and back in separate, taxpayer funded, French-built jets for the passing of the Prime Ministerial baton.
Two days later, the Queen died, leaving the new PM as the most important woman in the world. At least in her own mind.
Yes, sometimes we have to get ahead with these columns, and especially with politicians because they’re more likely than most to rearrange because of diary pressure.
And during the lead time to publication the landscape can change. Sometimes seismically, if you get my fracking drift.
During the gap between writing and publishing the interview with Emma Hardy, we lost the incumbent Prime Minister after he was forced out by industrial action from some of his staff. Yes, they downed tools in one of their jobs because they wanted to stand by their principles, and because their other jobs would still bring in enough to keep the wolf from the door.
So anything could happen before this appears, or even by the time it’s finished, but I’ll make two predictions: Hull City Council Leader Mike Ross and Hearth restaurant will both last longer than Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. We know this because the restaurant is currently taking Christmas bookings.
That’s likely to leave Mike with yet more letters to write. He revealed he was planning to write to the new PM to invite her to Hull, and why not? A few weeks later it was reported he would write to Therese Coffey, the… erm… Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Cue various quips on social media about her penchant for fat cigars and a glass of fizz, but she’ll surely have put those down for a minute to read Mike’s concerns about services at Hull Royal Infirmary?
‘A RECENT ADDITION BUT ALREADY ONE OF THE BEST IN THE CITY’: Hearth restaurant, opposite Hull Minster
If he hasn’t written to the King yet then I’m sure he will, because the aristocrat formerly known as Prince Charles has been to Hull more than any Prime Minister I can think of. I once travelled with him from Gipsyville to Withernsea and if I can remember who else was on the coach I’ll invite them to lunch.
As we fill in his background, it’s hard to imagine Mike could have done anything but politics. His Mum served as a Lib Dem councillor in Sussex and Mike worked in the office of his local MP for a year before coming to the University of Hull in 2000.
He studied politics and was sufficiently serious about his subject to take his first steps towards making a career of it.
He said: “I stood for the city council for the first time in 2002 and didn’t have any great expectations. But we went from 10 seats to 29 overnight to control the council for the first time and set off this life for me.
“The advice to undergraduates at the time was not to do more than ten hours work a week outside of studies. It’s really hard to remember how many I was doing, sometimes with several meetings a week!”
Mike has been a councillor ever since, spending rather longer in opposition than in power but gradually building numbers since becoming leader of the Lib Dems in 2015 and steering the party to a majority in May this year.
His politics is underpinned by a passion for Hull. He met his wife at the university and they’ve made a home in the city, with children aged four and seven.
He said: “I was struck by the friendly welcome of Hull and the different pace of life compared to the south and especially London. It’s the sort of place where you can very easily feel at home.”
‘THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT HULL THAT KEEPS YOU HERE’: Mike Ross
Home as an undergraduate was Cranbrook Avenue and then Alexandra Road, and although politics often distracted from a “normal” student life Mike came out with a 2:1 and a desire to make a difference.
He said: “I always remember when I was at university the statistic about Hull having the second highest retention rate outside London. There’s something about the place that keeps you here.
“It’s the pace of life, the quality of life, it’s not like Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield but it still has a lot to offer. One of the phrases I used to hate was the one about Hull being a best-kept secret. Don’t keep the secret! Tell people about it.”
So let’s shout about Hearth. It’s a recent addition to the restaurant scene and it’s top table, for my money vying with The Hispanist and Home for the accolade of best in the city.
It’s a bakery during the day from Tuesday to Sunday and a cosy restaurant open on Sunday afternoons and evenings from Thursday to Saturday. Ian Pexton looks after front of house and there’s a sprinkling of Michelin Stardust from his colleagues, baker and pastry chef Caitlin Ogden and chef Ryan Telford.
Mike enjoyed his snack lunch of oxtail and Hafod cheddar nuggets with lentils and I was well impressed by the cod cheeks in a light, beer batter. Cracked potatoes added a bit more substance and were excellent.
It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday lunchtime so worth booking ahead and I’d definitely recommend a reservation in the evening.
FRESH: Hearth also operates as a bakery
I paid another visit for dinner a few weeks after my lunch with Mike and I can endorse his rating of the nuggets, with my accompaniment of crispy devilled eggs also a delight. Bavette steak is something you don’t often see on a menu and the chefs at Hearth cooked this one to perfection.
The culinary highlight was a lime apple sauce with a chunky, carved pork chop but even better is the Hearth vibe of red brick, lots of wood, an open fire for cooking the roasts, views of Hull Minster from the front and – if you get the right table – all the way along Prince Street at the back.
It’s everything you’d expect from a restaurant in the former Studio 10 and a half crafts and coffee shop. Back in the 80s the owner used to join us for an occasional pint in the Bonny Boat. One day he was so eager to quench his thirst that he dashed across the square without realising he’d locked a customer, a vicar no less, in his gallery.
There’s a new business next door, the Livewell Syndicate, and just along from them Dexters Bar & Grill has opened. On South Church Side local entrepreneur Paul Luen has invested to create 24 stylish apartments in Kings Buildings. Things are happening.
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“Hull has always been going through change,” said Mike.
“It has tremendous organisations and businesses and the challenge is getting the message across to the rest of the country about what’s happening here. A number of other councillors are graduates from Hull. When you get people here they quickly fall in love with the place. I have had many conversations with people who experienced that and didn’t want to leave.
“There’s always something going on. We have just had Freedom [festival] and there’s lots of smaller scale stuff going on as well. The key for a successful city is that we don’t lose those events. It’s about giving people something to do, about recognising that life is about more than going to work and going home again. Enrichment of life is really important.”
But there are also those pressing priorities of heating and eating, transport and the rest of the day-to-day. In backing the Enough is Enough campaign, Mike is anti-growth of the poverty gap.
TASTY: Some of the sweeter offerings in Hearth
“For many people in a city like Hull the cost of living crisis is not new,” he said.
“Many people have been living through their own cost of living crisis for many years and that has been exacerbated. If there have to be warm banks we will make sure that happens, but I can’t believe we’re even talking about that in the 21st century.
“Roads is a big issue for the city, and the type of council as well, listening to people. And crime, people want more done to address that.”
For all his letters to leaders in Westminster, Mike is clear he has no interest in pursuing a seat in Parliament.
He said: “I have stood in Hull a few times but I am very clear that my priority now is the City Council and it’s not a short-term thing. We have set ourselves up to have a long time in office because there’s a lot to be done, and I also recognise I would probably get a lot more done as leader of the Council than as a back bench MP.
“You look at our team – a handful of us had been councillors when we were last in administration and a few have cabinet level experience. I knew we had a team who were really experienced in other ways as well, in health services in the city and in the voluntary sector and who understood the issues facing Hull.
“I very much believe in partnership and it’s right that the council sets the agenda and leads, but often it’s about supporting those who are best placed to do a particular job rather than trying to fix everything yourself.
“I want to see more people getting involved but there is a danger in seeing engagement through the ballot box as the only form of engagement.
“The roads survey attracted over 21,000 responses. That’s phenomenal. You will get more people taking part if they feel they are able to engage more, and we can’t solve the major issues alone.”