6:12am Friday 22nd February 2008
By Will Kilner
Bradford should be allowed to "drive itself forward" through the introduction of an elected mayor, according to David Cameron.
And the Conservative leader wants to see a financial bonds scheme to fund major regeneration projects.
Mr Cameron brought his shadow cabinet to the city yesterday, then visited the Telegraph & Argus offices for an exclusive interview with Editor Perry Austin-Clarke.
During the interview, Mr Cameron said he wanted city leaders and administrators to be given more power to give Bradford the opportunity to drive forward its own regeneration He said great cities such as Bradford had been built by local people, not Londoners, and said it was time to give back control to a more powerful group of local civic leaders.
He said: "In years gone by, great projects were built by cities issuing bonds and we are looking at how we can do that again, otherwise everyone has to wait for the Treasury to come up with the money.
"I want to see a new generation of civic leaders with extra power. With bonds and elected mayors, we will attract the right people."
Mr Cameron said people had reacted well to elected mayors in cities where they had been introduced.
He said the system had worked particularly well in New York, and added that the electorate liked to have someone to thank when things went right and someone to hold accountable when things went wrong.
Mr Cameron spoke with excitement about the regeneration of the district, particularly the plan to reinstall the canal between Bradford and Shipley.
He said: "Last time I was in Bradford, I went to look at the canal project. It's incredibly exciting and we can really see the impact that will have. I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes."
Mr Cameron pledged to fight a "very hard fight" for Bradford in the next election.
He said: "I am confident we are going to make progress in Bradford and West Yorkshire. This is one of the places where the election is going to be won and lost.
"There is a real commitment from the shadow cabinet to be up here today engaging with the people who matter.
"We have been absent for too long from some city centres in our country.
"We have got our first councillor in Manchester city centre, but we have got to do better."
He said it was positive that the Conservatives now controlled several councils in West Yorkshire, including Bradford and Kirklees.
Mr Cameron said there had been ten years of the same Government in which Labour had failed to deliver on crime, education and health.
Talking about the impact of immigration, Mr Cameron said there needed to be an overall limit for people coming to live in the UK from outside the European Union.
He said: "Bradford and Britain's record in having a multi-racial society has been fantastic. But we will only keep those benefits if we recognise that immigration has put a great pressure on public services."
He said it was crucial to balance immigration with the need to provide good schooling, effective policing and a high-quality health service.
Asked about the pressures of immigration on housing provision, Mr Cameron said it was time to get away from the "top down" housing targets set out for different areas of the country.
"We give local areas targets but don't let them keep the benefits of local housing. Get rid of the top down targets and say to Bradford that, if you build more houses and get businesses to locate in the region, you get more of the benefits," he said.
On the issue of crime, Mr Cameron said it was time to free police officers up from the burden of red tape and paperwork. He said: "We need to get police out from behind their desks and onto the street. Police need to feel that they can intervene more."
Mr Cameron said more stop and searches should be conducted and would be welcomed by ethnic minority communities, many of whom also suffer from gun and drug crime.
After the shadow cabinet meeting at the Great Victoria Hotel yesterday morning, Mr Cameron took lunch at the Mumtaz restaurant, in Great Horton Road.
Accompanied by about two dozen guests, Mr Cameron took the opportunity to reveal that he believed forced marriages should be made illegal.
One of the people invited to the lunch was campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera, who lived in Bradford for five years before running away from home aged 16 to avoid a forced marriage.
She said: "It was poignant that David Cameron should make this announcement in Bradford because there are particularly challenges in this city."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk