THE Northern Powerhouse and Brexit were both hot topics at the latest instalment of Bradford Politics in the Pub.

The leader of Labour-led Bradford Council, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe and the leader of the Bradford Conservative group, Cllr Simon Cooke, were both on the panel, along with local businesswoman Emma Pentelow and Nadeem Murtuja, chairman of racial justice and human rights group JUST West Yorkshire.

At the debate, held at the Stein Bier Keller in Morley Street, panellists were asked about their hopes and fears following the vote to leave the European Union.

Cllr Hinchcliffe, who campaigned for Remain during the referendum, said despite the result she will not back down from the challenge of trying to get the best deal for Bradford in the EU negotiations.

She said: “In Bradford, more than 80 different languages are spoken and we have links with countries all over the world, so we have a lot on our side going forward. But the north isn’t attached to economic growth, there is a wage gap, a growth gap, and an investment gap with the south. I want Theresa May to back up her words with action, and invest funding into infrastructure for the north.”

Vote Leave supporter Cllr Cooke said his biggest fear is not getting the “right Brexit for Bradford”. He said: “I hope we get the right deal, my fear is we won’t. Bradford needs to make the argument that we don’t need an insular solution, that was the point of leaving the EU; we need to be international.

“I fear Farage-istas will have too much input and there will be too much focus on immigration rather than getting the right trade agreements. The only losers in closing our borders are the British people, that would be the wrong Brexit. We are an international city in terms of people and historical links, that’s our tradition and what we should focus on, so lets go do deals with Africa and southeast Asia because that is what we’ve always done. We need a Bradford voice in negotiations, and we need to get the Northern Powerhouse right as a region. I think Theresa May is putting feelers out to see what other countries want from a Brexit deal before pushing the Article 50 button.”