Former Manchester council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein – the man widely credited with spearheading the city’s 21st Century renaissance – has died aged 71. He leaves behind wife Vanessa, two children and three step children.

Council chiefs said he died following a ‘period of illness’. Sir Howard joined the town hall aged 18 as a junior clerk in 1971 and rose to become one of the UK’s most powerful civil servants outside of Whitehall, famed for his ability to strike a deal.

Alongside former council leaders Graham Stringer and Sir Richard Leese, he oversaw Manchester’s remarkable transformation from the post-industrial doldrums of the 1980s to the bustling, modern city of today.

The many projects to bear his stamp include the regeneration of Hulme, the Commonwealth Games, the success of Manchester Airport, the rebuild after the 1996 IRA bomb, the Metrolink, Bridgewater Hall and devolution.

The older of two brothers, Sir Howard was born into a Jewish family in Cheetham Hill in 1953. His dad Maurice – whose parents had emigrated from Russia in the 1900s – sold raincoats on Cheetham Hill Road above a laundrette opposite the library.

In a 2016 interview with the Manchester Evening News, Sir Howard told how his Jewish upbringing in the shadow of the Second World War shaped his outlook on life – and would come to shape his home city. “My father was always very… not political, but very socially aware,” he said.

Sir Howard Bernstein in 2016 (Image: Joel Goodman)

“I think most Jewish families were in that era, from where they came from, and where their parents came from. Being in a community was fundamental. Treating people with respect, working across the community – that always was seen as being very, very important.”

From humble beginnings, his first job at the council came with an annual salary of £500, Sir Howard quickly climbed the town hall ranks. But it was when Graham Stringer, now MP for Blackley and Broughton, became council leader in 1984 that his career really began to take off.

Despite still being a junior officer, Sir Howard impressed the new leader with his energy and tenacity in fighting an unfair competition case against Stansted Airport. In the years that followed, they would together set about reinventing their home city.

Despite representing an almost entirely Labour council, the pair were adamant that if it was to grow and prosper, Manchester would have to work much more closely with the private sector and the Conservative government. It was a decision steeped in pragmatism that would have a huge influence on the council’s thinking in the years and decades that followed.

“You have got to work with the government, because of the entirely centralised way they deal with power,” Sir Howard once said of the outlook would define his tenure. “You could have the Liverpool approach, which in the 1980s was conflict.

Sir Howard Bernstein at work in the town hall in the 1980s

“Or you could recognise that there were serious shortcomings in national policies and try to overcome them by persuading them and working with them where you can.” And in cabinet minister Michael Heseltine, Sir Howard found a willing and influential ally. They first came together on the regeneration of Hulme in 1991.

But it would be their work on the plans to rebuild the city centre following the devastation of the 1996 IRA bomb that would perhaps have the biggest impact on Manchester. Heseltine famously agreed to stump up £100m in the time it took for Sir Howard and Sir Richard Leese to get a taxi from a meeting in his Westminster office to Euston station.

Then the hard work really began, with Sir Howard having to use all his renowned powers of negotiation to cajole and convince the myriad economic interests involved to get onboard with the grand vision.

He succeeded. Eventually Manchester received almost £600m of public and private sector cash with the extensive rebuild now seen as a key catalyst for the wider regeneration that followed and a landmark moment in urban renewal.

Around the same time, Manchester was also making its bid for the 2000 Olympics. While it would ultimately prove unsuccessful, it helped pave the way for the city to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which saw the construction of the City of Manchester Stadium, helped to kickstart the regeneration of east Manchester and led to the eventual takeover by Abu Dhabi of Sir Howard’s beloved Manchester City.

Sir Howard Bernstein

Ex-Chancellor George Osborne once dubbed Sir Howard ‘one of the very, very best public servants [he had] ever come across’, having being persuaded to unlock northern England’s economic might with a devolution deal for Greater Manchester in 2014 – the first outside London.

Sir Howard, who was knighted in 2003 New Year’s Honours list, stood down from his role as chief exec in March 2017 after 46 years as a council employee. He went on to hold advisory roles at Deloitte, Manchester University and Manchester City’s parent company City Football Group, among others. He was also named an honorary president at City and president at Lancashire Cricket Club.

But he will forever be synonymous with his achievements at the town hall and his crucial role in helping rebuild and reinvent Manchester for the 21st Century. “It’s my city,” he said shortly before his retirement in 2017. “I’ve always been a proud Manc. I’ve always regarded this place as the most cosmopolitan, the most successful city about.

“For a Jewish guy to become chief executive of the city council and never once in his entire career experience any kind of racism or prejudice – I find that quite remarkable. I think that speaks a lot about this city. If you chopped off people’s hands here they’d have Manchester through it.

“I think people here are different.”

‘His legacy shaped Manchester as the city we know’

Announcing the news of Sir Howard’s death, his family said in a statement: “With profound sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved Sir Howard Bernstein. Sir Howard Bernstein was born into a Jewish family in Cheetham Hill in 1953, the older of two brothers.

“He was married to Lady Vanessa Bernstein, brother to Russell, a loving father to Jonathan and Natalie, and a devoted stepfather to Danielle, Francesca, and Dominique. Sir Howard was also a proud grandfather to seven grandchildren.

“Sir Howard is best known as one of the chief architects of Manchester’s resurgence over the last four decades and was Knighted for his services to Manchester in 2003.

‘His legacy shaped Manchester as the city we know’ (Image: Joel Goodman)

“In 1971, Sir Howard began his career at Manchester Town Hall, eventually serving as Chief Executive of Manchester City Council for 20 years until his retirement in March 2017. His deep love and passion for Manchester shaped the city we know today, and he remained committed and active in supporting the city up to his passing.

“Sir Howard is widely recognised as the driving force behind the transformation of modern Manchester. His notable achievements include:

  • Leading the reconstruction of the City Centre after the 1996 terrorist bomb
  • Spearheading the 2002 Commonwealth Games and associated regeneration and development, including what is now the Etihad Campus and the wider transformation of East Manchester
  • Overseeing major commercial, transport, and cultural projects such as Spinningfields, the expansion of Metrolink, the Bridgewater Hall, Home, the Manchester Conference Centre, the City Art Gallery, and the Factory, part of the St John’s development
  • Leading negotiations for the historic Devolution deal between Greater Manchester and the Government, which included health and social care

“A lifelong supporter of Manchester City FC, Sir Howard served as its Honorary President. He was also the president of Lancashire Cricket for a decade, and after retiring from public life, he became an Honorary Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester.

“Sir Howard’s legacy shaped Manchester as the city we know, and he will forever be a part of Manchester’s history. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and the city he passionately served.”

‘Boundless energy, strategic vision and a passion for Manchester’

Manchester council leader Bev Craig said: “Sir Howard served Manchester with remarkable distinction. He will be remembered as a driving force in the city’s turnaround from post-industrial decline to the growing, confident and forward-looking city we see today.

“He had boundless energy, strategic vision and a passion for Manchester. In 46 years at the Council, serving as chief executive between 1998 and 2017, he played an integral role in the regeneration and economic growth of the city, from the city centre’s resurgence after the 1996 IRA bomb and the 2002 Commonwealth Games and transformation of East Manchester to the creation and extension of Metrolink.

“He was also integral in the establishment of strong working relationships between the 10 Greater Manchester councils, culminating in the establishment of Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2011 and a series of historic devolution agreements which transferred power and resources away from Westminster and Whitehall to our region.