The Hannah Mitchell Foundation, formed in 2012, is an independent, democratic organisation which researches and campaigns for progressive regionalism and devolution for the North of England.  

Our core aims are:

• To make the case for democratic regional devolution in the North of England and to stimulate debate about the best forms for it, whether for the North as a whole or its constituent regions.
• To improve knowledge and understanding of the past, present and potential future socio-economic, cultural and political identity of the North and its constituent parts.
• To co-operate with similar organisations across the UK and beyond to promote regional democracy.

We also collaborate with others to:

• To promote democratic forms of political representation
• To support local democratic initiatives, from village to town and city level
• To encourage and examine experiments in participative democracy
• To promote industrial democracy in the workplace.

Our name is inspired by Hannah Mitchell (1872-1956) – an outstanding Northern working class feminist, co-operator and socialist who served as a councillor in Manchester for many years and believed in an inclusive and open approach to politics.