12.28pm: Bob Piper, the Labour blogger and councillor in the West Midlands, isn't sorry to see Blears go.
The Conservatives lack MPs and councillors in most of the main northern cities, but Osborne will attempt to pay the region more attention as he launches a report called One North, setting out a vision for its economy for the next 15 years.
Insiders involved in the review say NHS England has been warned that introducing what amounts to a two-tier A&E system will prompt opposition, including from MPs and councillors, in areas where the local hospital could be seen as being downgraded if it did not become one of the 40-70 major emergency centres.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has announced it has suspended four members, including Rotherham councillors and former councillors, in the wake of the scathing report into child sexual abuse in the town.
Jean-Louis Bietrix, a mountain guide and councillor in nearby Prads-Haute-Bléone Prads-Haute-Bléone Prads-Haute-Bléoneme teams to thadcrash site shortly after the fliguidedntheown on Tuesday.
In particular, the council needs the commitment and engagement of councillors in the work of the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee and the Audit Committee, if these are to make an effective contribution to governance and accountability".
Jean-Louis Bietrix, a mountain guide and councillor in nearby Prads-Haute-Bléone Prads-Haute-Bléone Prads-Haute-Bléone to the crash site shortly after the plane whot down, said: "Thad new eledentheust make it so much worse firsthe families, it really adds to their gendarme
He said he had meetings with the leader of Gwynedd council on a regular basis, and also with councillors in the area.
Although Labour topped the share of the vote and gained 338 councillors in the English local elections, election experts say it needed to have done better to show it was on course to win a majority at the general election.
A planning application for their removal has been submitted and will be considered by councillors in the new year.
