Leeds stands as a beacon of economic hope as its financial sector goes from strength to strength - Ismail Mulla

This week the Leeds West and Pudsey MP was at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos fishing for more investment.

Britain did receive some good news though as a survey of UK chief executives by consultancy PwC found Britain had leapfrogged Germany, China and India to become the second most attractive country for investment behind America.

But there is still a long way to go when it comes to fixing what is an ailing economy. If we don’t fix the economy, then there is no way that the country will be able to tackle the underlying social issues.

For example the backlog in maintaining crumbling schools, hospitals and prisons costs at least £49bn but could be larger, according to the head of the National Audit Office (NAO).

However, there is danger that we can grind ourselves down with all the navel gazing that is going on. That is why it is worth celebrating some of the nation’s strengths, especially those that happen to be in our neck of the woods.

And one such success story is the strength of the financial sector in Leeds. The city has over 30 national and international banks and 150 accountancy firms and prestigious financial institutions are setting up bases in Leeds.

This is underlined by the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) announcement last week. The regulator said that it is hiring more staff in Leeds after the city surpassed its expectations as a regional base.

The regional office in Leeds opened in 2022 and is now a base for more than 300 employees. The FCA expects to welcome around 100 extra staff to its Leeds base.

Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA, makes a great point of how expanding in regions like Yorkshire broadens the regulator’s perspectives and experiences.

It follows the Bank of England committing to a headcount of at least 500 staff to be based in the city by 2027 last year.

That sends a very clear message to the world about what Leeds has to offer when it comes to financial services. The skills and expertise that exist here are being leveraged to not only help regulators and central banks but also to create much needed opportunities for local people.

Mr Rathi says the FCA came to Leeds “because of the superb talent pool, the great universities and the welcome we received from the city council and the strong financial and professional services pedigree that has been in Leeds for many, many decades”.

And the expansion of the financial sector is underpinned by the fact that Yorkshire is also a hotbed of digital talent.

Now that is not to say that Leeds or any other city across Yorkshire should be complacent. There is still a feeling that a lot more needs to be done on skills. But there is a real base from which the region can build.

There is an underlying frustration across industries in the region that the potential of the erstwhile levelling up policy was never really met.

The reason why so many business and civic leaders are crying out for greater investment in transport is to help unlock opportunities that cities like Leeds present for the wider population.

It would also act as a vote of confidence in the region, making it a more attractive destination for inward investment.

That is why the decision to snuff out the Northern leg of HS2 was such a hammer blow. It is one that the Government will come to regret in the years to come.

Connecting places like Manchester and Leeds to not only London but mainland Europe would have put the North and all of its industries on a global platform.

So if Britain is to get the economy firing on all cylinders then it needs to look to the regions, where there is an abundance of untapped potential.

Rachel Reeves said she “will not rest until the UK economy is growing” as she met the heads of major international banks during her two-day visit to Davos. Perhaps next time she could pitch Leeds’ financial services sector as an example of the best that Britain has to offer, if she didn’t do so on this occasion.