Sajid Javid: My promise to Sheffield over BIS jobs

Organised by the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, there was a time when the festivities ran on for almost two weeks. When I speak there tonight I’ll only have about 20 minutes, but I should still have time to explain exactly what this Government is doing to help businesses across the North.

It’s probably a lot more than you think. And it’s certainly a lot more than you had to put up with in the past. Because between 1997 and 2010, the Government’s strategy for industry was simple: neglect it.

Under Prime Ministers Blair and Brown, the number of people working in manufacturing fell. Manufacturing investment fell. Manufacturing’s share of the economy experienced the fastest decline under any government since records began.

Since David Cameron became Prime Minister, we’ve been doing things a little differently. Under the coalition, we put in place a comprehensive industrial strategy, working with sectors that have serious potential and removing the barriers that are stopping them from growing.

The results are there for everyone to see. Compared with 2010, manufacturing employment is up. Manufacturing exports are up. Manufacturing output is up. There’s no doubt that manufacturing and industry is still facing many challenges – just look at the global collapse in steel prices – but this Government is delivering for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

We’ve cut corporation tax, lifted countless employers out of National Insurance contributions, and made it cheaper for businesses to invest in the equipment they need. We’ve introduced the Apprenticeship Levy, passed a new Enterprise Act and secured effective tariffs on unfairly traded Chinese steel.

And we’re leading the campaign for Britain to stay in the European Union. The EU is our single most important trading partner, one that British manufacturers rely on for more than £80bn of exports every year. Leaving would be a huge risk to businesses right across Britain.

I’m a Eurosceptic but I’m voting to remain because I’m not driven or bound by ideology. I’m only interested in doing what works. And that’s also why I’m proud to be playing a role in delivering our vision for a Northern Powerhouse.

Now I know that for some people, particularly east of the Pennines, the very mention of the Northern Powerhouse is enough to get the eyes rolling. I understand the cynicism. Some previous governments were big fans of short-term branding.

But the Northern Powerhouse couldn’t be more different. It’s a serious long-term commitment that will help make the North of England greater than the sum of its parts.

We’re able to do that because we believe that government should be investing in business, not in more government. That we can’t go on spending and borrowing, building an ever-larger public sector and leaving a huge burden of debt.

That’s why I told my department to find £350m of savings over the next five years, savings that are being delivered in lots of ways – including reducing our number of offices from 80 to just seven, plus a regional footprint.

That includes the proposed closure of our Sheffield office. Contrary to what some have said, it’s not a sign that we’re hunkering down in the capital and turning our backs on the north. Even if all of the proposed restructuring goes ahead, more than 80 per cent of BIS staff will still be based outside the capital.

Above all, we’re doing more with less so that we can really focus on what matters most. Delivering for businesses across the country, across the North, and right here in Yorkshire.

That impact won’t be felt overnight. But progress is already being made.

The Northern Transport Strategy was published a few months ago, and legislation to put Transport for the North on a statutory footing will be in place next year. We’re investing hundreds of millions of pounds in the future of industry, and billions in the future of transport. We’re putting in place the superfast broadband that Northern businesses need to compete on a global scale. I personally led the first-ever Northern Powerhouse overseas trade mission, taking 50 northern businesses to Singapore and Malaysia last year.

In recent years, Yorkshire 
has created more jobs than 
the whole of France. But we’re not about to put our feet up and say “job done”.

Supporting Yorkshire businesses, growing the region’s economy and giving the north the boost it richly deserves is something this government is absolutely committed to doing. And that’s something worth celebrating tonight – even if the party doesn’t go on for a fortnight.

Sajid Javid MP is the Business Secretary.