DEVO Manc — the ground breaking deal to bring a host of new powers to the North West — has come back to the fore this week.

The devolution deal, which will give us an elected mayor of Greater Manchester, will see our local leaders given greater power over transport, health, business and education.

The Bolton News has joined forces with the other major newspapers in the region to call on Chancellor George Osborne to give us a fair deal — and it must be hoped that he takes notice.

In a major shift in policy this week, Mr Osborne announced that councils will be given the power to keep all the business rates they collect (a long-held ambition of local authorities) and that crucially, we will also be able to set our own rates.

For the last 25 years, business rates have been set at a national level, meaning councils had their hands tied when it came to attracting new businesses to a town.

Now they will be able to set rates lower to attract more businesses to their town.

Clearly this will have a knock on effect in terms of taxes raised, however, more businesses setting up shop will create more jobs and more wealth for a town.

In essence it is a tricky balancing act, but it's a move councils have been calling for and now they have got their wish, so they can't complain.

The fear that politicians have locally is that we won't get enough money, that this devolution deal is just another way of delivering budget cuts.

But in my mind this is a defeatist mindset. We are being given the tools to manage our own destiny and create our own wealth.

This now-famous phrase — the 'Northern Powerhouse' — has clearly been dreamt up by some 23-year-old marketing whizz kid.

But it's a great label for us to have. It gives the North pride (something we have never lacked) — but more importantly its gives us focus.

What we need next is some decent candidates to be our Greater Manchester mayor. They need to be someone with a big personality. Someone who can fight our corner and make sure we do get a fair deal from Whitehall.

Boris Johnson did a great job in London and we need a similar figure — albeit our mayor will clearly be Labour given the region's political make-up.

I'd like to see someone like John Prescott take on the job (despite his North East roots) — or maybe Leigh MP Andy Burnham.

Either way we need someone with a bit of experience who can make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.