THE NEW Prime Minister should give his "unequivocal backing" to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full with a new station in Bradford, the city's business chiefs believe.

Within hours of Rishi Sunak winning the race to become PM, Bradford Chamber of Commerce had called for him to "put Bradford and Yorkshire at the heart of British growth.”

During her short time at the helm, Mr Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss had committed to building NPR.

Victoria Wainwright, President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said: “We at Bradford Chamber of Commerce congratulate Rishi Sunak on becoming Prime Minister. We want to work with him to help get Britain back on track for stable economic growth.

“A key step to achieving this would be to lend his unequivocal backing to bringing HS2 to Yorkshire but also to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, with a station in Bradford.

“Such a commitment would see billions of additional revenue contributed to the Treasury and help put Bradford and Yorkshire at the heart of British growth.”

Meanwhile, West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce called on Mr Sunak, who today (Monday) won the Conservative Party leadership election, to immediately announce steps to help businesses cope with an economy which is placing thousands of businesses in a perilous situation.

Mr Sunak will face a historically significant raft of challenges upon taking office, with inflation at its highest level in a generation, energy costs soaring and the economy forecast to fall into recession by the end of the year.

James Mason, chief executive of West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “After a chaotic few weeks, we as a Chamber hope the arrival of Rishi Sunak in Number 10 will herald a period of relative calm for the country.

“Businesses will be seeking clarity on how energy support packages will work beyond April, how issues with the labour market can be resolved and how we can get the nation back to growth.

“We at the Chamber believe that the North can be the driver of economic growth and call for HS2 to Yorkshire and Northern Powerhouse Rail to be used as catalysts to power the nation’s finances.”

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The new administration must grasp the cost of living and cost of doing business crises are two sides of the same coin.”  

Cleckheaton businessman Rajeev Dewedi, a senior partner at Shenward Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, said: “I feel reassured today that hard work, honesty, humbleness and passion has prevailed.

“Looking at the past track record, it will give a boost to the nation to survive the tough economic challenges coming ahead.” 

 

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