Action needed to create jobs says council as it backs our campaign

ONE of the region’s largest metropolitan councils will this week formally add its weight to the Yorkshire Post’s growing campaign to secure a fair deal for the region.

Sheffield City Council will meet tomorrow afternoon to debate a motion from council leader Julie Dore that it should “support the Yorkshire Post’s Fair Deal for Yorkshire campaign, which seeks to give Yorkshire a fair deal on funding, investment and opportunities.”

The council’s move comes just days after the Yorkshire Post ratcheted up pressure on the Government and local authorities with the publication of 60 practical measures that could and should be taken to improve the prospects of the region as it battles out of recession.

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The “bank of ideas” features both long and short-term measures on issues including transport, infrastructure, enterprise, tourism and inward investment.

Councillor Dore said her entire Labour group at Sheffield Council – which holds 50 of the authority’s 84 seats – will be formally supporting the proposal to back the campaign, and suggested job creation should now be the Government’s biggest priority in the North.

“Since Labour took control of the council back in May, we have been committed to standing up for Sheffield and are wholeheartedly behind the Yorkshire Post’s ‘Fair Deal for Yorkshire’ campaign,” said Coun Dore.

“Many areas in Yorkshire, including Sheffield, do have high levels of employment in the public sector.

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“However, the Government seem to believe that if they cut the public sector the private sector will automatically fill the void.

“This attitude is very complacent – we know this is not happening in Yorkshire at present.

“We need to see real action to support job creation and the development of sustainable private sector industries in our region.”

The Yorkshire Post launched its Give us a Fair Deal campaign in response to a mounting body of evidence that shows the region is not being given the support required to emerge stronger from the recession and to begin to close the widening North-South divide.

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Over recent months high-profile figures have added their voices to the campaign, while both Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg have engaged positively with us – all the time insisting they are doing all they can to support Yorkshire.

But Coun Gore pointed to the imminent abolition by the Government of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward – and the loss of regional funding that goes with it – as a sign the coalition could be doing more.

“We are committed to working with the Local Enterprise Partnership, but we have lost a lot of investment from the abolition of Yorkshire Forward,” she said.

At the same meeting tomorrow, Sheffield City Council will also debate a separate motion expressing concern over the possibility that the Government’s forthcoming high-speed rail plans will initially only stretch as far as Birmingham – with a separate Parliamentary bill for routes to Yorkshire and Manchester being postponed until a later date.

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Amidst concerns the latter part of the network may consequently be delayed, or even put off indefinitely, Labour councillor Leigh Bramall wants the council to pass a motion stating it “firmly believes that the entire high speed rail route from London to the North of England should be pursued through a single bill, in order to provide confidence that the entire network will be realised as planned.”

If agreed, the motion will be passed on to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond for consideration as the Government finalises its proposals.

The Yorkshire Post has been campaigning to bring high-speed rail to the region for several years in a bid to drive forward the local economy by improving links to the capital.