It was great to visit major bed manufacturer La Romantica Beds in Heckmondwicke, West Yorkshire alongside Labour Leader Keir Starmer and local MP Kim Leadbeater. Thank you to their managing director, Siddique Amin, for showing us around and for helping us to convene a fascinating roundtable discussion with business owners and leaders across the region, from micro businesses to major national companies. We discussed the challenges faced by businesses in the current economic climate (this week we heard that there was zero growth in the month of February), and the contributions of strong businesses to strong communities.

This was followed by a brilliant breakfast meeting with North West businesses in Manchester this morning, with plenty of encouraging discussions.

Meanwhile, latest International Monetary Fund figures show the UK has one of the worst performing economies in the world. A Labour Government would not rest until Britain gets it’s ambition back, as I told Sky News.

I also had a great meeting with umbrella groups representing manufacturers across both the United States and the United Kingdom. An ambitious British industrial strategy must be underpinned by excellent trading relationships, so I was grateful for this most helpful conversation.