HSBC and Yorkshire Sculpture Park among businesses urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to protect Northern economy as lockdown looms

Business leaders are urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “defend those parts of the North in deepest crisis” as the country is forced to prepare for a second coronavirus lockdown.
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Eighty bosses have signed a letter to 10 Downing Street warning that “levelling up” is at risk unless decisive action is taken protect the Northern economy from further damage and get the nation out of new restrictions announced at the weekend.

Pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail will close from Thursday this week for four weeks across England, with furlough payments at 80 per cent for the duration of the measures.

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People will be allowed to exercise and socialise in public spaces outside with their household or one other person, but not indoors or in private gardens, and will be able to travel to work if they cannot work from home.

Lord Jim O’Neill, vice-chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.Lord Jim O’Neill, vice-chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
Lord Jim O’Neill, vice-chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Unlike in the lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic, schools, colleges and nurseries will remain open.

The letter, signed by business leaders including Ben Andrews, managing director of HSBC UK, and Peter Murray, executive director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, comes after more than 50 Conservative backbencher MPs called on Mr Johnson to recommence the “levelling up” agenda.

Lord Jim O’Neill, vice-chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “The fact that this many prominent business leaders and MPs from across the North are united on what needs to be done should be a real wake-up call to the government.

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“We need to bring forward promised infrastructure investment to create thousands of jobs, while boosting productivity and connectivity. And we need a Northern Economic Recovery Plan to support sustained growth in the long-term.

“There’s simply no excuse for the Government to remain complacent when it comes to rebalancing the economy - pandemic or no pandemic. The recovery must tackle underlying issues in closing the North-South divide, decarbonising the economy and driving the Northern Powerhouse forward, rather than simply papering over cracks in the short-term.”

The letter reads: “We must defend those parts of the North in deepest crisis, and realise the opportunity for higher skilled, better paid opportunities if we unlock that with measures to drive up productivity.”

It asks for clear route out of lockdown, that Government bring forward investment which was promised in last year’s manifesto” for projects such as HS2 and outlines support for a Northern Economic Recovery Plan.

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Martin Hathaway, managing director of Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said that his “overall view is that it was an entirely unhelpful way to make an announcement about a lockdown, played out in the media rather than by clear leadership from our Government”.

Daniel Horsman, landlord of the independent Jacobs Well pub in Bradford, is also concerned.

“This is the seventh set of rules we’ve been told about since July and it’s getting a bit ridiculous,” he said, “the lack of notice and any sort of structure to them.”

The pub typically serves six cask ales and if half of each barrel is left to go sour after pubs are made to shut suddenly, the business stands to lose £250.

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His pub’s prospects depend on the financial support it receives, said 26-year-old Mr Horsman, who is the main breadwinner for himself and his wife, Catrina, but he added: “We’ll suffer, obviously.”

The Government was contacted for a comment.

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