Is mayor Dan Jarvis quietly playing the long game?

It was inspirational to hear northern voices united at a time when so much of this huge region is subject the severest restrictions.

Covid continues to ravage our city, as demonstrated starkly by the fact that the conference - organised by JPIMedia and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership - was supposed to be held at the Cutlers’ Hall, first in March and then in October, before it had to go fully virtual.

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis gave the welcome speech during a busy week which included negotiating for support for firms forced to close.

In Manchester, mayor Andy Burnham had a very public falling out with government on the same subject. It appears to have worked, in that the £30m initially offered has doubled to £60m, although Mr Burnham has been sidelined.

Over here, Mr Jarvis took a different approach. There was no row, public or private, as far as we can tell.

Mr Jarvis, in consultation with local leaders, put in a bid and government appears to have come back with a ‘take it or leave it’ offer.

I understand Sheffield’s demand was £90m. So the £41m announced must have come as a blow.

But instead of complaining on national television, he said he’d driven a hard bargain and was confident ‘we could not have secured more money’.

Sheffield MPs and council leaders were not so muted, complaining bitterly at the amount.

But perhaps Mr Jarvis is playing the long game.

In interviews he repeatedly referred to it as an ‘interim’ payment.

By some calculations the £30m for business within the £41m funding would be spent in 20 days if used to cover the impact Tier Three will have on the economy.

Clearly, a lot more cash will be needed if the restrictions last for months.

It is for leaders like Mr Jarvis to work out how best to prise it out of the Treasury.

Perhaps by immediately accepting the lesser amount in this week’s talks and not making a public fuss and letting others do the complaining, he hopes to keep Boris Johnson onside.

It’s an approach that frustrates some. We can only hope he has got it right.