Labour urged to deliver for North East on growing region's economy

Business leaders in the North East have congratulated Labour on its landslide victory but challenged the party to deliver on growing the region’s economy.

The General Election result - which followed Labour's victory in May’s mayoral election - saw the party win all but one seat in the region, with quick counting meaning most of the early seats to declare nationally were in Sunderland and Northumberland.

But after a campaign in which Labour deliberately projected a pro-business message, the party has now been urged to turn its local and national mandates into tangible results.

Read more: North East general election results live Read more: All the North East general election results by area as Labour win landslide

Stephen Patterson, chief executive of Newcastle NE1 Ltd, the business improvement district company for Newcastle City Centre, said: “In the wake of Labour’s landslide victory, I want to throw down the gauntlet. We have a new Labour Government, a Labour mayor, and the vast majority of our region’s councils are of the same political hue. The scale of the electoral success is significant.

“As we have seen in Teesside, we need to use the strength of this position to move the city and the region forward and to act decisively to support the economic growth of this region. There can be no excuses.

“The Government should treat the next five years as an extended job interview when it comes to delivering for this region. In five years, they need to be able to look back and be proud of what has been delivered.

“Top of the list should be a firm commitment and unreserved support for Sage Arena and International Conference Centre (ICC). This would be a complete economic game-changer for Gateshead, for Newcastle and for the region and needs to be delivered within the next political cycle. We need action and we need it now – no excuses, no delays.”

John McCabe, chief executive at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “I congratulate the Labour Party on its victory in the general election. When he spoke with North East Chamber of Commerce members just a few months ago, Keir Starmer said his party’s number one mission for economic growth depended on the success of businesses in the Chamber network. With victory secured and by such a wide margin, the government he leads must now deliver for our region.

“The Chamber went into this election campaign with five clear asks of the main parties – create the conditions for growth; develop skills for local needs; invest in key sectors; reduce child poverty and increase economic participation and grow trade through improved exporter confidence. These are the fundamentals of a stronger, fairer North East and if we can achieve them in partnership with Government, this region will have played its part in the decade of national economic renewal our new prime minister has promised to deliver.”

CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said: “Congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. Delivering sustainable growth should be the defining mission for the new government. Business stands ready to bring its innovation, ideas, and investment to make that shared mission a reality.

“The new Prime Minister has been given a clear mandate to take the tough decisions on areas like planning reform and boosting grid capacity needed to get the economy firing on all cylinders. What firms need now is a Government that’s ready to hit the ground running and is laser-focused on delivery.”