Hilary Benn
Main Page: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
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Julian Smith
I of course agree with my hon. Friend, and I hope to describe that beauty in my speech.
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his timing and foresight. No sooner had he secured this debate than we are able to meet here to celebrate the success of Yorkshire’s bid. The people of Leeds and everyone in Yorkshire are really looking forward to witnessing the grand départ from the centre of Leeds during the summer after next. Will he join me in congratulating all those—he has mentioned some of them—who had the audacity and vision to make the bid in the first place? Does he share the hope of us all here that UK Sport, with the Government’s encouragement, will now back the bid, including with a bit of cash?
Julian Smith
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I shall come on to the Government shortly, but I want to pay tribute to his work and efforts in ensuring that that effort has always been a cross-party one.
As the right hon. Gentleman says, the bid had the full backing of local authorities in Yorkshire, the police, transport companies and the whole business community. A public campaign was launched to encourage people to show their support for the Yorkshire bid, and it has received more than 170,000 pledges. We have had great support from our regional media—the Yorkshire Post, ITV, the BBC, Thomson Press and Ackrill Media. Even French President Francois Hollande backed Yorkshire’s bid to host le Tour following a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in Paris.
The Government have challenged the country to embrace localism. Yorkshire has taken that challenge and won the most incredible event for the UK and the north. Many people have been involved, and I again pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), the hon. Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) and many other right hon. and hon. Members and noble Members of the House of Lords who have shown their support. My hon. Friend the Member for Selby and Ainsty (Nigel Adams) hosted the Paris organisers of the Tour de France, and anyone who knows him will know that that was a very good evening.
The person who did the deal—it is important to put this on the record—is Gary Verity, the chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, with his team, and also Tom Riordan, chief executive officer of Leeds city council. When I met Gary Verity and Christian Prudhomme, race director of le Tour, at St Pancras earlier this year, following their whirlwind tour of many of the jewels of Yorkshire, I saw how positive the chemistry and trust between them was. I therefore knew several months ago that we had a good chance of getting the deal. Gary and his team have delivered a great opportunity for Yorkshire, and have again proved that we must ensure that their future and funding is secure.
We do not yet know exactly where the grand départ will be—we will find out in the coming months—but one thing is certain. As my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Julian Sturdy) has said, the Tour will travel through some of the most beautiful towns and villages in the land.