Chancellor Rachel Reeves explains how Leeds will benefit from being home of National Wealth Fund

Rachel Reeves, who is the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, unveiled plans for the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in October.

With £27.8 billion to invest in clean energy and growth industries, it is expected to bring investment to sectors where there is an undersupply in private finance.

The Treasury described it as the country’s “new impact investor” that would fund “impactful projects that would not have happened otherwise”.

That will include in sectors where Leeds is already excelling, Mrs Reeves told the YEP, which will mean growth for the city.

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She said: “The National Wealth Fund will be recruiting and growing, because it has an expanded budget to invest in the economy.

“There will be more good jobs in a part of the economy where Leeds already has real strengths, like financial services. It is also going to work with our mayors and local leaders to identify projects to invest in.”

The NWF replaces the Leeds-based UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) with a broader mandate than just infrastructure investment.

John Flint, who led the UKIB, was announced as the head of the new investment body and described plans to “unlock billions of pounds of private finance for projects across the UK”.

Speaking to the YEP, Mrs Reeves pointed to the government’s commitment to invest in carbon capture and storage projects as an example of how it can stimulate private investment and generate jobs.

“The idea is to turbocharge areas of the economy that are growing globally,” she said. “There are some big opportunities here and the National Wealth Fund investing with the private sector can really help to unlock growth and bring good jobs paying good wages to Britain.”

Her comments came during a visit to the Corn Exchange, where the Chancellor met small business owners.

She said she was able to explain to traders how they could benefit from decisions made in the Autumn Budget, such as a rise in employment allowance meaning they may not have to pay national insurance.

Her colleague Katie White MP, who was elected in Leeds North West earlier this year, was among the most vocal in calling for the NWF to be headquartered in Leeds.

She said: “We already have a big service sector, and one of the growing areas is green financial services. Leeds was already building up that skill set as it grew with the UKIB.

“We are the second finance capital of the UK anyway, so it made absolute sense to capitalise on what had already been happening - and to hit the ground running.”