Devolution business group to study key economic asks

A new  association – the Devolution Alliance for Business – will commission real-time research to find out what major business sectors want from North Yorkshire devolution.

The alliance, created by West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and the universities of York and York St John, say the aim is to allow the new mayor to hit the ground running with economic policy following the election on 2 May.

Declared candidates for York and North Yorkshire Mayor are Keane Duncan (Conservative), Kevin Foster (Green) and Keith Tordoff (Independent). Labour and the Liberal Democrats are yet to announce their candidates.

The alliance convenes a number of business leaders and stakeholders from across York and  North Yorkshire and was officially launched at York’s Fairfax House on 6th December 2023. Its membership spans the economic demographic of the region, and each representative will present their own unique challenges, opportunities and asks from devolution.

Researchers will conduct interviews to discover what are the prime priorities for business sectors, to be delivered by the new Mayoral Combined Authority.  Once the research and findings have been compiled the Alliance will present this information to the mayoral candidates in order to help them shape their manifestos. Regardless of the political affiliation of the new mayor, business needs remain the same, and this work will hopefully create a positive and productive relationship with the new Mayor and authority going forward.

WNY Chamber president Sarah Czarnecki said, “I’m confident that the new Business Alliance shows that we are prepared for the new Mayoral Combined Authority. We want to put business leads at every level first, and the universities and Chamber are committed to working together with the Mayoral candidates to achieve that.”