Why Yorkshire's diverse business community is a strength and could extend the 'living bridge' - Ismail Mulla

While globalisation has undoubtedly created pressure points in our economic system, retrenching is not the answer to the problems we face.

A decade of austerity led to the economy shrinking and in turn households less well off to the tune of £3,600 a year. Public services took a hit. And this all happened prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.

There is an argument for Keynesian policies when it comes to tackling the current economic challenges but that’s a discussion for another day.

What I do want to talk about is the need to change how we as a country view diversity. As the Tory party starts the process of finding a new leader, they need to start embracing it as a strength.

We have already seen with labour shortages in sectors such as care homes the value that workers from abroad brought to this country.

But there is also the value of entrepreneurship. During the 60s and 70s, we saw migrants from Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh up sticks and move to the UK.

A lot of these people either would go onto set up their own businesses or their future generations would go onto work for themselves.

It led the current Prime Minister of India to coin the term ‘living bridge’ - referring to the movement of people, ideas, goods and services from India to the UK and back - building relationships between communities that share the same heritage in other countries.

Sharon Jandu, managing director of the Northern Asian Power group, which looks to lobby on behalf of Asian business leaders in the region, believes that this concept can be extended beyond just Britain and India.

On a recent visit to Canada, Ms Jandu noticed that there were sizable communities of South Asian heritage in the country.

“There’s a huge Indian diaspora out there,” she said. “It made me laugh - I thought the whole of Punjab had moved out there when I went.”

The cogs began to whirr in her mind. Why don’t we use that shared heritage to extend the living bridge concept from diaspora to diaspora?

There is already a lot of common ground between the business communities while the prospect of opening up a new, previously completely foreign, market can only be a good thing for these companies.

Ms Jandu is now in the process of putting a trade mission together to take out to Canada next year.

She wants businesses across the North to start thinking of themselves as being a part of a bloc rather than working in isolation.

What struck me during my conversation with her was that it isn’t just about helping Asian businesses trade with other Asian businesses in Canada.

There is an opportunity for all businesses to improve trade ties off the back of the South Asian diaspora.

“There’s also an opportunity for non-Asian businesses to go into those markets as well,” Ms Jandu told me.

We’ve seen how business events put together by Ms Jandu in the past have helped companies of all stripes build important relationships.

That is the strength that I refer to. That is why the diversity that we have in our region should be championed and not shunned.

There is a war on our doorstep and recently I listened to the distressing story of Yana Smaglo, who had to abandon everything including her successful clothing business, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Her ambition is not just to rebuild her life here in Yorkshire but to also build and maintain ties with suppliers in Ukraine.

Once again, it is an example of that diversity of thought, expertise and experience. That’s why my message to politicians from across the spectrum is - ditch the divisive narrative and start embracing the strength of diversity that is embodied by the business community in Yorkshire.