The UK has been put on a ‘war footing’. Could that be good for Sheffield?

“Sheffield has been doing well for the last year or so because of wars and rumours of war…” (The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell). Writing in 1936, just a few years before the outbreak of the second world war, Orwell noticed how spending on defence was providing a boost to the city’s struggling economy. The echoes today are hard to miss. Once again, the government is talking about the need for war readiness. And once again, a city whose economy isn’t exactly booming spies an opportunity for some major government spending.

Last week, the government published its Strategic Defence Review, which called for defence spending of 3% of GDP, and a move to a position of war readiness. And this week, the Chancellor will be setting out the results of the government’s major spending review. So is Sheffield likely to see a big injection of defence cash? That’s today’s big story.

As well as that, we have some sad news about a Sheffield sporting trailblazer, a chance to find out about the wildlife in Kelham Island’s goit, and a lovely home in Walkley with amazing views.

Sheffield: the perfect setting for a murder mystery

From our sponsor: Simon Mason, author of The Woman Who Laughed, told The Tribune: "The story is set in a gritty part of the inner city, St Vincent’s, where, on the eve of Covid lockdown, a young sex worker is strangled with the strap of her own bag, her body – together with the bag – dumped in a restaurant’s bin and taken away to landfill. Yet, five years later, the bag is found hanging on the door handles of a local café where Ella used to hang out. Does it mean that she’s still alive? It’s a case for my specialist ‘finder’, Talib, who arrives in the city in a heatwave to find the solution to the mystery.  What he discovers is stranger – and more alarming – than he thought possible. For him, a terrifying problem. For me, a chance to spend some time, imaginatively, in the city of my birth."

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In case you missed it

For our weekend read, music writer Daniel Dylan Wray returned for a piece about photographer Pete Hill. Hill made his name shooting the future stars of 70s and 80s Sheffield. Now he documents its rapidly disappearing past. To read that piece click here.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our more than 2,700 paying members. In Daniel’s editor’s edition on Tuesday, he talked about the joys and frustrations of moving to Crosspool, including the suburb’s two hyperlocal newspapers and the difficulty of cycling up Manchester Road. And in Thursday’s edition, Dan looked into Martin McGrail, Sheffield’s Container King. Steelyard Kelham opened to great fanfare in 2017, but eight years on it has few fans left as vendors leave complaining of poor management and neighbours despair over the anti-social behaviour it causes. An extract from that piece is below.

For one long-standing Neepsend business, the news that Steelyard Kelham will be hosting another one of their regular dance music events provokes feelings of dread. As well as the noise and the threat of anti-social behavior, one of the biggest problems they face is people using their car park as a toilet. “There have been times when I have literally stood outside on Friday and Saturday nights trying to be a bouncer because we’ve got people who have been absolutely hammered trying to stagger in here,” says the business owner. “We have outdoor seating and we’ve had grown men whipping it out in front of families.”

The big picture: City of trees 🌳

Being a city of hills, Sheffield is full of great vantage points. This fantastic shot of a very green looking St Mary’s Gate from the Cholera Monument with the hills of the Peak District in the background was captured last week by top Sheffield snapper Emma Bothamley.

The big story: The UK has been put on a ‘war footing’. Could that be good for Sheffield?

Top line: In Wednesday’s spending review, the government is expected to spend big on defence. They say ramping up defence spending is a prudent response to an increasingly dangerous world. But could it also be good news for South Yorkshire?

Background: Announcing the Strategic Defence Review last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer effectively put the country on a war footing. He said that Russian aggression meant that the UK faces a "more serious and immediate" threat than anytime since the end of the Cold War.

• In order to do this we will have to spend significantly more money on defence and security. Starmer promised to increase defence spending to 2.7% of GDP by the end of this parliament with the aim of increasing it to 3% in the next.
• If we were to do this now it would mean we would need to spend £77 billion on defence a year, but the United States has said they want European countries to go even further and increase defence spending to 5% of GDP.

Every (mushroom) cloud: As the storm clouds of war gather over Europe, some sense an opportunity for South Yorkshire. Our region’s links to the defence industries are well established:

• Key organisations: Sheffield steel firm Forgemasters were recently nationalised by the government to ensure the UK’s nuclear deterrent Trident could be built wholly in this country, and the University of Sheffield is reckoned to have received more funding from the defence sector over the last decade than any other. Its Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) works closely with defence contractors including BAE, Rolls Royce and Boeing. 
• Key personnel: Defence Secretary John Healey is a local MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, and the Combined Authority’s new chief executive, Katharine Hammond, comes here from GCHQ.

Rapd rollout? “With technology developing faster than at any time in human history, our own forces, and the whole of Defence, must innovate at wartime pace”, according to the Strategic Defence Review. So could a lot of cash be coming Sheffield’s way really quite soon? (As ever, if you know anything about what’s going on behind the scenes, get in touch — if you make contact we can set up a secure communications channel.) 

The Tribune has been told by SYMCA that their bid to the government for the spending review had a big ask around defence. And just last week, Sheffield Council leader Tom Hunt took to LinkedIn to say the promised increase in defence spending represented a “big opportunity” for Sheffield.

• He said that our region could potentially be involved in making new submarines, munitions and autonomous systems like drones.
• “Our city can play a key role in delivering national security and driving economic growth,” he continued. “Defence has significant potential to be a new engine for growth and our city and region can play a big role.”

Nuclear free no more? However, while our leaders sense an opportunity, others aren’t so sure. Sheffield has a proud history of arguing for peace, famously forging links with the Ukrainian city of Donetsk during the Cold War and declaring itself a “nuclear free zone” in the 1980s. More recently, students in the city have regularly demonstrated against the alleged involvement of the University of Sheffield’s AMRC with arms manufacturers. Local activist Tom French wrote on LinkedIn that he felt some of the sabre-rattling looked “grubby”. He continued:

“I appreciate there are nuances and compromises to all of these things, but the ill-thought-out tone and tired cheerfulness of the 'economic growth trumps anything' narrative is extremely jarring in this context, particularly given the ongoing global backdrop of what this money means in reality.”

Our take: The rationale for increasing defence spending is clear: we are living in more dangerous times. But spending so much money on weapons of war while our public services such as the NHS, schools, welfare and transport are starved of funds feels fairly dispiriting. We’ll wait and see what the spending review on Wednesday brings.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

⚽ Sheffield-born Uriah Rennie, who was the first black Premier League referee, has passed away aged 65. This comes after a year long battle with a rare neurological condition that caused paralysis from the waist down. Rennie, who grew up on the Wybourn estate, officiated over 300 matches from 1997 to 2008, and was recently appointed as chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University. Tributes for the referee have poured in across Sheffield, with the Sheffield FA describing him as a trailblazer in the football community and celebrating his impact in breaking down barriers for future generations. 

🏚️ Sheffield City Council’s public consultation on the reassessment of conservation areas opens today. Proposals include adding parts of Castlegate, Fitzalan Square, Norfolk Street and West Street to the City Centre Conservation Area, and incorporating an area to the north of Neepsend and Moorfield Flats to the Kelham Island and Neepsend Industrial Conservation Area. The project aims to preserve Sheffield’s history for generations to come, ensuring the most important sites are protected from future development. Members of the public can have their say on the proposals until the public consultation closes on July 18th. More detail on the plans and how to provide feedback can be found here. 

🎧 On Friday, BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme interviewed stage and screen director Stephen Daldry about the imminent closure of the Leadmill. Daldry, who was a student in Sheffield, was amongst the first generation of regular gig-goers for whom the Leadmill became a cultural landmark. The venue was, in his words, “never corporate, always local, and yet boldly international”. Fast forward to 1hr 42min for the segment.

Coming up

This week we will be sending two more packed editions of The Tribune to our more than 2,700 paying members. On Tuesday we will have a piece about Regather, the Highfield food coop whose fruit and veg boxes wend their way to hundreds of Sheffielders every week. Then prepare yourself for our big piece about the 2012 ski village fire. Was it an inside job after all? To get all that and lots more sent directly to your inbox, join The Tribune today.

This week’s weather 🌥️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say this week will see it warm up significantly with sunny spells and the threat of showers and thunderstorms later in the week.

Monday 🌦️ Hazy sunshine, breezy westerly winds and thickening cloud bringing patchy rain later and more especially overnight. Highs of 18C.

Tuesday ⛅ Early rain clears to leave a dry and increasingly sunny day. Feeling warmer despite keen west-northwest winds with highs of 21C.

Wednesday 🌤️ Very warm and dry with lengthy periods of strong sunshine, breezy south-southeast winds and highs of 26C.

Thursday 🌦️ Cloudier with some sultry sunny spells and the threat of heavy showers and thunderstorms from the south. Highs of 25C.

Friday 🌦️ Staying very warm, humid and unstable with further pleasant sunny spells but also the threat of intense downpours. Highs of 26C.

Outlook: Gradually turning fresher through the weekend from the west with sunshine and scattered showers. Temperatures still warm but closer to average. 

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the great news that South Yorkshire’s transport system is set to improve… but not until 2027.

Home of the week 🏡

This three-bedroom Walkley semi is situated on a secluded cul-de-sac and is superbly presented throughout, with tasteful, modern fixtures and fittings having recently undergone an extensive refurbishment. However, the real stars are the stunning views to the rear from not one but two spacious balcony areas. It is on the market for £350,000.

Things to do 📆

Art 🖼️ On now at the Millennium Gallery is Liliane Tomasko: The Psyche of the Portrait. The New York-based visual artist uses portraiture as an acute lens to shed light on the ever-changing human psyche. Her bold, abstract paintings respond directly to four key portraits in Sheffield’s collection, deftly drawing parallels between the creation of those original works and the development of psychological study. Suggested donation £5.

Tour 🦆 On Tuesday, find out about the diverse botany and wildlife that call Kelham Island’s goit home. This man-made water channel dates back to Norman times and the start of industry in Sheffield, when it diverted water from the River Don to the town corn mill. Now, this special habitat is a haven for flora and fauna, from ferns to fish — and you might spot the odd amphibian too. The free one-hour tour starts at 1pm at Kelham Island Museum. 

Theatre 🎭 Starting on Tuesday at the Library Theatre is The Invincibles, the Tudor Players’ new show about the history of the women’s football. In 1917 Essex, factory workers Sterling Ladies play for two seasons, never losing a match, while in 2023, footballer Maya watches the Lionesses progress through the World Cup, taking inspiration from the struggles of the past, as the two eras combine. The production runs until Saturday. Tickets are £12-£13.