City slicker

VOTERS in the key swings seats of Yorkshire were instrumental in bringing David Cameron to power. They will also be central to his chances of staying there. So whether for political gain, to boost the regional economy or simply to honour his promises, one would have thought he would have done more to help major cities climb out of recession.

Instead he is closing regional development agencies and leaving question marks over major transport projects for Yorkshire. Appointing Greg Clark as a Minister to drive growth outside London, in eight cities including Leeds and Sheffield, is too little and too late. How it contrasts with the crowd-pleasing rhetoric shown by Mr Cameron in the run-up to the General Election, when he repeatedly visited this region and claimed to take its problems seriously.

Since he chose Bradford as the location for the coalition’s first Cabinet meeting outside London, we have heard little about what he can do for Yorkshire’s economy.

The belated appointment of a City Minister, much like the planned re-introduction of enterprise zones and the chaotic birth of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), looks like an after-thought because of Britain’s failure to recover from a deep recession. It has a back-of-the-envelope feel to it and it is hard to imagine Mr Clark will understand Yorkshire’s complex mix of industries, which range from tourism to professional services and from fishing to farming.

There are better ways Mr Cameron could help our major cities start to boom again, such as increasing the size of the regional growth fund, giving LEPs more power and cash or using his trade missions to bring business to sectors where Yorkshire is strong, such as advanced manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

Any of these would be preferable to the hollow promises with which we have become depressingly familiar.