Great Northern Conference: Rachel Reeves reveals plan for mayors to win investment for university spinout companies

Ms Reeves was the final person to appear on stage at the event in Hull and anticipation had built throughout the day for her on-stage conversation with The Yorkshire Post’s Westminster correspondent Ralph Blackburn.

The Chancellor took the opportunity to reveal some details of the Government's devolution plans in advance of the publication of a White Paper on the topic.

She said regional leaders will be given a boost to their existing efforts to attract cash from private equity and venture capital sources to the regions they represent.

The Chancellor said there would be a particular focus on supporting the work of university spinout companies which aim to turn research and inventions from within higher education establishments into commercially-successful ventures. She cited the existing successful work of Northern Gritstone, which invests in fledgling science and technology businesses in the North.

Ms Reeves told the packed audience: “We're going to set up new strategic partnerships between mayors and Innovate UK and UKRI (UK Research and Innovation), who are responsible for the R&D and innovation budgets.

"I think that's really exciting, because we've got fantastic universities, great entrepreneurs in our northern cities. If you look at the money that comes from venture capital, private equity, it doesn't flow enough to entrepreneurs outside of London and the South East.

"There have been some great initiatives to try and change that - Northern Gritstone, for example, working with Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester universities.

"But these strategic partnerships between our mayors and these innovation bodies is a really important vehicle for bringing more research and innovation to all regions of the UK."

The Chancellor also faced questions over her recent Budget.

She told business and policy leaders that this was a "once in a Parliament" Budget to deal with the Government’s fiscal inheritance.

The Leeds West and Pudsey MP said she was willing to be “unpopular “if it meant making “tough decisions” to stabilise the economy.

"I'm not going to try and pretend that it's going to be easy for businesses, or indeed, charities and local authorities to absorb the National Insurance increases,” Ms Reeves said.

“But we made a commitment during the general election for a reason, that we wouldn't increase taxes on working people, because over the last few years, it has been working people that have had to bear the brunt of tax increases.”

She told the conference there would be no repeat of the £40 billion tax hikes announced in the Budget.

Ms Reeves said that public services would have to “live within their means” and that she would not be “coming back with another load of tax rises” or higher borrowing.

The Chancellor and Yorkshire MP said she was determined that the North would benefit from economic growth.

“I absolutely accept the argument that growth on its own is not enough,” she said.

"It's got to be felt by people in all communities in the UK, it's no good having growth that lifts living standards in one part of the country, often London and the South East, or people working in a small number of sectors of the economy.

"That growth has got to be widely shared and widely felt, which is why we've got so much focus on the devolution agenda.”

Earlier in the day, the boss of new state-owned company GB Energy said the Government’s push for clean energy can help reindustrialise regions like the Humber and bring vast numbers of new jobs.

Juergen Maier said it is green energy is key to job creation and the revival of industrial areas.

“Clean power is the economic opportunity we are going to see for the decades to come,” he said.

He said offshore wind schemes could employ 100,000 people nationally by 2030 with carbon capture and hydrogen providing a further 50,000.

Mr Maier said GB Energy can “show the naysayers” by helping the Government deliver on its ambitious aims to deliver clean energy by 2030.

He said he believes a target to decarbonise the power grid by the end of this decade is achievable.

Mr Maier said: “For me it is hugely exciting, for GB Energy this is exciting. At the same time it is quite an ambitious goal and won’t be easy.

“We are going to do it by driving a huge amount more of offshore wind, energy storage, doing hydrogen and carbon capture projects.”

The feasibility of the target has been questioned by critics but Mr Maier, a former chief executive of Siemens, said similar doubts were raised about the company’s wind power blade factory in Hull before it opened in 2016. The site now employs around 1,300 people.

”It is really incredible when you stand back and look at the achievements,” he said.

“I remember giving various interviews around the time saying it would be about 10 years before we could really start to celebrate the North really regaining its crown as an industrial place. We have still got some way to go but we should still reflect that a lot has been achieved.

“We are now totally clear on the fact that what is now going to drive the next phase of reindustrialisation to places like the Humber and others around the country is green energy.

“It is crystal clear that is where the future lies in terms of jobs and prosperity.”