Today’s announcement that over 200 civil service jobs will move from Sheffield to London makes no sense and only exposes George Osborne’s empty rhetoric about the northern powerhouse once again. I’ve pressed Ministers to move public sector jobs out of London, as Labour did, and I’ll be challenging this decision at every opportunity. 

Well paid civil service jobs provide opportunities for local people. They enable graduates of our two universities to stay in the city.  Their spending in the local economy creates more jobs. And we need more of the country’s top decision makers to experience life in the regions, not see everything through the distorted experience of London. 

Sign the petition urging the Government to scrap plans to close Sheffield’s BIS Department here.