SO, MR BROWN comes to town. This, though, as one of our struggling retailers may say, is not simply a Prime Ministerial Visit; it's the full Gordon Brown Cabinet Visit.

If, a year or so ago, Liverpool was left feeling a little used by the return of the drum-bashing pensioner to the roof of St George's Hall, we'd be wise to look and listen carefully to all that's said and done during this Downing Street decamp.

One broadsheet newspaper has already reminded its readers that Liverpool has been chosen to host the visit as a city badly hit by the ravages of a previous recession. Let's hope progress made since then does not go unrecognised by the correspondents accompanying Mr Brown.

Messrs Brown and Cameron barely drew breath during the festive break and have hit 2009 at frantic pace in the race to find favour with public opinion.

At the weekend, the Government's news machine trailed early details of the "creation" of 100,000 new jobs – driven by the Cabinet's tactic to spend its way out of the slump. I suspect we will hear more about these jobs when the country's political heavyweights alight in Liverpool. Judging by the early reaction, based on another huge hike in public spending, it's likely that some of the messaging is being reworked right now.

Account will also have to be taken of David Cameron's latest assault on the Government's handling of the downturn. On one BBC clip I heard, he described the situation as: "Mr Brown's recession." Up close and personal then in Westminster.

It must be hoped that some good does come of the passing through of the Cabinet Circus.

Our region has made significant progress in developing sustained economic growth, but that does not make us immune from what's happening now. Nor do the massive investments and developments we have seen come on stream during 2008, impressive and long term though they are.

Mr Brown's visit will be short, but that should not prevent him from hearing important messages from these parts. The threat to Jaguar Land Rover and Vauxhall; the threat to the maritime sector through revised rating policies; the threat to the gaming sector (we are a world-renowned centre of excellence here) and, perhaps most critical of all for many SMEs everywhere, the need to restore some credit flow to our banking system.

There'll be other issues, too; it will be interesting to see if the Bank of England makes the bold move of reducing the base rate even further tomorrow.

Happy New Year.

MATT JOHNSON is chairman of Mando Group