Political stability and devolution key to unlocking industrial investment, say industry figures

The discussion, chaired by Adam Branson of Place Yorkshire, featured David Nuttall, director at HBD, Richard Beason, head of investment at Humber Freeport, Greg Lacey, head of property at Associated British Ports, and Bekki Banks, inward investment project manager at Invest East Yorkshire.

The panel agreed the arrival of elected Mayors and greater collaboration across East Yorkshire and the Humber is helping raise the profile of the region nationally, particularly around manufacturing, energy, and logistics investment.

Asked whether political alignment between a Labour government and Labour mayors would help accelerate growth, Nuttall said: “I think we all want the same thing. You won’t speak to any of the people, whether they’re political or non-political, who’s working in this environment, in this locality, who doesn’t want growth, who doesn’t want more jobs, and who doesn’t want investment.”

Greg Lacey pointed to the success of other devolved city regions, adding: “If you look at what Liverpool and Manchester have done over the last 10 years, they were both Labour mayors within a Conservative government. So I don’t think in politics there might be some issue there, but I don’t think it restricts growth because they’re flourishing.”

Bekki Banks said East Yorkshire is now beginning to promote itself more confidently on the national stage after years of being overlooked.

“For a long time we’ve been overlooked as a place to do business, but that hasn’t discouraged businesses from coming here,” she said. “We just haven’t shouted about it as well as some other areas.”

“Power has always been a challenge, but the scale of demand is getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “If we’re talking about critical national infrastructure, there needs to be a long-term strategy around where power capacity is needed and how that infrastructure is delivered.”

The panel also discussed frustrations around national infrastructure delivery, particularly grid connectivity and energy investment, with Nuttall arguing the UK lacks a sufficiently coordinated long-term strategy.

The wider issue of political stability and its impact on investment decisions also featured heavily during the discussion.

Nuttall said uncertainty can quickly affect occupier confidence and delay major projects.

“It can have a noticeable impact very quickly,” he said. “Businesses pause investment decisions while they wait for clarity – whether that’s around budgets, geopolitics or wider economic conditions. But ultimately companies can’t stand still forever. At some point, projects still need to move forward.”

Despite concerns around government policy and delays to infrastructure funding, panellists argued the Humber is becoming increasingly attractive to inward investors due to its scale, land availability, and collaborative approach.

Beason said the Humber Freeport partnership had spent the last two years putting the governance and systems in place needed to compete for large-scale investment opportunities.

“We’re now at the point where we can genuinely move forward,” he said. “The Humber Freeport is ready now. The Freeport benefits are important, but the fundamentals still matter most: infrastructure, workforce, connectivity, and available land.”

He added: “We’re not quite there yet, but we’re a long way from the start of the journey.”

The East Yorkshire Development Update took place at the University of Hull on 14 May. Further Place Media events throughout Yorkshire can be viewed here.