Earlier this month, she held round-table discussions with the leaders of the Merseyside authorities to co-ordinate their recession-fighting efforts – with ideas and problems fed back to Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, in London.

Among the early achievements Ms Hughes points to are:

An effective “rapid response service”, which means JobCentre Plus and local authorities immediately set up shop in companies announcing redundancies, to help people find new jobs quickly.

Plans to prevent key housing developments “grinding to a halt” across the region, by putting together rescue packages with the banks. A list of 20 to be helped will be unveiled next month.

A big expansion of apprenticeships, both by helping employers keep those already in place by subsidising wages and by signing up many more in the health sector and civil service. “Several hundred” will be announced in March.

Helping companies recognise and use ‘Business Link’, the government’s free advice service for everything from taxes and safety to bank loans, grants and growth.

Ms Hughes said: “In a nutshell, I see myself as an ambassador for the North West, making sure that, as far as we possibly can, we mitigate the effects of the downturn on individuals, families and businesses.

“There was a time, in the third quarter of last year, when the North West was not feeling quite the same impact being reported nationally – but we are now.

“Merseyside’s leaders confirmed they are now seeing significant falls in orders and output and a marked increase in number of unemployment claimants.”

If that message depresses you, then it shouldn’t, Ms Hughes said – because Merseyside is not in the deep hole that it was 15 years ago, when the last recession struck.

“There are still opportunities here, even in recession. There are still job vacancies and there are still businesses looking to relocate here, or to expand, including in Liverpool One. There’s a downturn – but don’t talk down Merseyside.”