Hilary Benn MP heading to Leeds for Irwin Mitchell’s Northern Powerhouse debate

Shadow Foreign Secretary and MP for Leeds Central, Hilary Benn, will be the keynote speaker at an Irwin Mitchell debate next month, which is focussed on how to turn the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ into a reality.

The debate, which will take place on 22 April, will be hosted and chaired by David Parkin, MD of COPA Summit, and held at Irwin Mitchell’s offices in Leeds at 2 Wellington Place.

In addition to audience members having the opportunity to discuss the economic priorities for the city of Leeds, Hilary will share his thoughts on the forthcoming EU Referendum.

Other topics which will also be explored include the recent Budget, leadership and governance, devolution, education, inward investment and the possible Brexit.

Hilary Benn MP said: “The city of Leeds is playing a vital part in increasing the economic power of the northern region.

“This event with Irwin Mitchell will be a chance to hear the views of business leaders from across the region and I’m looking forward to discussing priorities for the future of our region.”

Last year, Irwin Mitchell launched its UK Powerhouse report, a business study produced in partnership with economic think tank, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr).

The day will also feature an update on Irwin Mitchell’s UK Powerhouse Tracker report - a quarterly city-by-city forecast of the economic strength.

In the most recent version of the tracker published at the start of the year, it was revealed that the Leeds city economy grew by 1.9% in the 12 months to Q3 in 2015. The figure for Sheffield was slightly lower with year-on-year growth in Q3 of 2015 standing at 1.6%.

John Flathers, head of real estate at Irwin Mitchell in Leeds, commented: “We are delighted that Hilary Benn has agreed to speak at our event on the UK Powerhouse.

“Hilary is a great supporter of his constituency here in Leeds and will, I am sure, take a positive line over what is a challenging objective set by the Government. It promises to be a lively debate and has clearly caught the imagination with a strong demand for places already.”