PLANS for high-speed rail links from Leeds to Manchester - and the campaign to get a stop in Bradford - need to win the 'hearts and minds' of Northerners.

That's according to Yorkshire Building Society's Henri Murison, who urged civic and business leaders to tell the public how the line would be a game-changer for the whole of the North.

Speaking at a summit hosted by the Bradford-based financial institution this morning, Mr Murison, YBS public affairs manager, said: "If we can win that battle of hearts and minds, then this will get built."

He said, they needed to tell people how it would improve the lives of the next generation, adding: "What they want to see is what it will mean for their kids' economic future."

And he warned against a "complacent" view that the delivery of the Leeds to Manchester line itself was guaranteed, especially during what he described as the most politically unstable period of his lifetime.

He said: "It is a great idea, it has got massive support behind it, but it is not a done deal."

YBS, which has offices in Leeds and Bradford, held the event at its Leeds base in a bid to bring together civic and business leaders from across the Leeds City Region to secure their support for a Bradford stop.

Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan, who was also on the panel, said his authority was already fully behind Bradford's campaign, as they recognised the benefits not just for Bradford but for the whole of the Leeds City Region.

Fellow panellist, Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said a city-centre stop would have "massive regeneration and social benefits" for Bradford.