BRADFORD Council’s group leaders have been laying out their thoughts on how the authority moves forward following the United Kingdom’s historic vote to leave the European Union.

In the referendum on Thursday, June 23, 52 per cent of people in the UK who voted said they wanted to leave the EU, which included 54.2 per cent of voters in the Bradford district.

At a full council meeting next week the Liberal Democrats will put forward a motion suggesting a cross-party group is formed to deal with the consequences of Brexit.

Lib Dem group leader, Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, put forward the motion, and said that leaving the European Union will have profound consequences, affecting local people, the local economy, and council services.

She said: “The council is the largest provider of services in the district, and relies on millions of pounds of funding from the EU.

“The council needs to have an understanding of what is going to happen and where it will be, both in the long term and the short term.

“We have had no guarantees any money we received from the EU will be matched by central government.

“The grants have gone towards massive infrastructure projects and job creation schemes, so we need clarity and it’s right and proper the council discusses it by establishing a cross-party steering group to coordinate the council’s response to the challenges ahead.”

Figures released by the council showed that since 2010, it has received £8.3 million in EU grants, most of which has gone towards business and job creation.

Through different council schemes which received funding from the European Regional Development Fund, more than 600 jobs and 200 businesses have been created in the district.

The Supporting and Stimulating Successful Enterprise project received £1.4 million between April 2011 and June 2015, and created 303 jobs and 40 businesses.

The project, known as Bradford Kickstart, ran over a similar time period, and created 352 jobs and 164 businesses with the help of around £1 million of European funding.

Conservative group leader, Councillor Simon Cooke, who backed the Leave campaign, said that he agreed in principle with the idea of a cross-party group.

He said: “Setting up a group specifically for this issue sounds like a reasonable idea, and going forward there are some serious questions that need to be looked at.

“What happens to the regional grants we receive is something we need to know, as is the impact it will have on Bradford.

“We need to make our case to central government to ask what will happen going forward, and this is an important part of the negotiations which will need to be seriously looked at.

“When the two candidates have been decided in the Tory leadership vote, I will be speaking to both of them to find out what they will be doing to support the north of England, and I will be inviting them both to Bradford as well.”

Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of the Labour-run authority, said her group will be putting forward its own motion.

In the Lib Dem’s motion, Cllr Sunderland also highlighted the “worrying reports” of an increase in the number of xenophobic and racist incidents and hate crimes since the referendum result, and urged the council to take action against this issue.

She said: “There are lots of nervous people about at the moment, there have been incident I have been made aware of where people have had comments made to them.

“We need to be clear that whether we are in or out of the European Union, we should be treating all people with respect, regardless of their nationality or race.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, has also submitted a motion relating to the EU referendum.

In the motion, Cllr Hinchcliffe says: “As civic leaders it is our responsibility to work together now for all of Bradford’s residents so that we focus on getting the best deal we can for Bradford in a new relationship with the European Union and the world.

“The social and economic impacts of the decision are as yet unclear but are likely to be significant for the future of the district.

“We are grateful to all residents in the district who may have been born in other countries, who live, work and are raising their families here; they pay their council tax like other residents and should be assured that they remain welcome in our district.”

The motion proposes to assess the impacts of leaving the EU and how the council can work to accommodate the changes, and put Bradford in a good position in the world of trade.

It also aims to reiterate to EU migrants that they are welcome in the city.

The council meets at Bradford City Hall on Tuesday, July 12, from 4pm.