Business has a big role in the ‘Powerhouse’

That it is only one month since we cast our votes in the General Election seems incredible. And while its result took pretty much everyone by surprise, the good news for businesses was that a much feared prolonged period of uncertainty during coalition negotiations was avoided.

As a result, the business community can now look forward to working with a strong and stable Government. We hope to see this Government put the competitiveness of the UK at the heart of all its work and support its continued global success by setting out bold and ambitious policies to support economic growth.

What should be on the list? From a Yorkshire perspective, right at the top will be the realisation of the Chancellor’s plans for a Northern Powerhouse. A stronger North of England will deliver high value jobs and economic growth not just in the months or even years to come, but for decades. It’s a huge opportunity for businesses, and they have a big role to play in making it happen.

The good news is that the signs so far indicate it will be taken seriously in this parliamentary term. The Cities and

Local Government Devolution Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech is designed to usher in the changes needed to see the Northern Powerhouse become a reality.

We’ve also seen two positive new Government appointments. The Northern Powerhouse plans build on the recommendations put forward by Jim O’Neill’s City Growth Commission, and O’Neill has been given a Treasury post where his responsibilities will include infrastructure and devolution – two central pillars of the project. There is also a dedicated Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, James Wharton MP. With both having responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse, Wharton and O’Neill will need to coordinate closely.

In conversations with leaders from financial and professional services, what’s clear is that the ambition to bring about a balanced economic recovery right across the UK is right, fair and urgent. As a major employer in the North of England, the industry supports the Government’s commitment to develop the Northern Powerhouse and the opportunity it brings to attract investment into northern towns and cities.

But as well as supporting the project, the industry also has a key role to play in making it happen. Let’s not forget this is an industry which contributes almost 10 per cent to the Yorkshire economy, and which will account for nearly a quarter of employment growth across the region in the next 10 years.

So what can we do? Continued engagement with government is critical. Financial and related professional services benefit from, but also enable, greater investment in hospitals and roads, ensure a pipeline of skilled workers from our schools and universities and help small enterprises get off the ground and thrive.

We have a lot to say on these and many other issues, but to make sure that we are heard, these conversations must happen at a local as well as a national level. The devolution of more powers to towns and cities in the North means our voices must echo in the ears of leaders from Leeds and York as well as in Whitehall and Westminster.

The £7bn pledged to build the Northern Powerhouse has the potential to change the economic landscape across Yorkshire and beyond. There remains, of course, the all-important decision about what to call the new super-region. ManShefLeedsPool made the early running, but I still think Lemasol is the way to go, given the prominence it gives my home city of Leeds.