Supporting growth in Yorkshire and the Humber

In a speech at the Yorkshire and Humber Annual Dinner, Carolyn urged members, politicians and local leaders in the room to look past Brexit and focus on what needed to happen to ensure the region remained a hub of imagination, innovation and ingenuity.

She called for more action – rather than just talk – on devolution.

“We know that decisions are best taken by those most impacted by them. Yet the UK remains one of the most power-centralised countries in Europe,” she explained.

“And frankly, with government distracted by Brexit, we can now see the disadvantages of over-centralisation more clearly than ever. It’s a simple question of bandwidth. Yet despite this indisputable truth, progress towards devolution remains frustratingly slow.”

She referred to the CBI’s latest report, Powering up places, which sets out three steps that government should take in order to kickstart devolution and maximise the potential of English regions.

It’s not good enough for government to reject locally-led plans – such as ‘One Yorkshire’ – with little explanation, or no alternative proposals, she said, adding that local leaders must resist entrenchment too.

“We need to see action,” she added. “Let’s not add ‘devolution fatigue’ to existing Brexit fatigue, with progress kicked into the long grass.

Connectivity and HS2

Alongside Yorkshire and the Humber needing to make the most of net zero opportunities, Carolyn drove home the importance of connectivity to the region’s success, arguing that “business is held back by creaking Victorian-era infrastructure”.

“Frustratingly, we know what’s needed. Not tinkering around the edges – but big, ambitious national projects – starting with HS2.”

She said the economic case for building HS2 in its entirety was “absolutely rock solid”, and failure to do so risked “further decades of declining productivity and stagnant growth”. She argued the main argument of capacity has been missing from the debate, highlighting the benefit of freeing up existing tracks to better cater for local commuters and short-distance travel, as a way of regenerating local economies. And she emphasised the Northern Powerhouse Rail project relies on around 80km of HS2 infrastructure.

“It’s not an either/or choice,” she said. “We need both.”