MP backs HullBID in upbeat speech to businesses

Alan Johnson (centre) after his speech at Trinity House.

CITY centre MP Alan Johnson urged businesses to back HullBID as he spoke at the organisation’s latest members’ networking event held in the chambers of Hull Trinity House.

The MP for Hull West and Hessle, whose constituency covers the area bounded by the BID, said he supports renewal when businesses vote on the future of the organisation next year.

He said: “HullBID has made a big difference to the city centre. I am really grateful for that, and 2016 would be the worst time to stop that work.”

Mr Johnson was speaking to an audience from a wide range of city centre businesses including small and large retailers, local independent operators and nationwide chains, and professional firms.

He was introduced by HullBID City Centre Manager Kathryn Shillito and shared the lectern with Captain Philip Watts, Master Warden of Hull Trinity House Charity and Chairman of the Trustees, and he picked up on themes from both of them.

Captain Watts said he believed the occasion was the first time in its near 650-year history that Hull Trinity House had hosted such a gathering. Mr Johnson explored the history of some of his predecessors representing the city in Westminster, and particularly Andrew Marvell and William Wilberforce.

But his main focus was on the future. He said: “I don’t think there has ever been a time when people felt so positive about the future of this city. There are all kinds of issues that everybody is facing but many things fill me with optimism.”

Mr Johnson said the last census indicated that the population of Hull stands at a 20-year-high, particularly with working age people. He credited the Building Schools for the Future programme and the work of the University of Hull with encouraging young people to stay in the city, and he praised organisations including Reckitt Benckiser, Hull Trains, Spencer Group and C4Di for investing in the city.

He said: “Siemens is not the only game in town but it is crucial and it’s their biggest investment in the world. Now we are getting a cluster of businesses who want to be here. Wherever you look there is cause for optimism in this city, City of Culture being the bit that brings it all together.”