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Master and Mistress Cutler.

Lord Lieutenant.

High Sheriff.

Lord Mayor.

My lords, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me start by thanking the Senior Warden for being so forthright in his remarks.

I always knew Yorkshiremen were direct!

But I was genuinely interested in what John had to say.

Because I鈥檓 not just here tonight to talk.

I鈥檓 here to listen.

After all, good friends are open and honest with each other.

And I hope that, 20 minutes from now, you鈥檒l appreciate that I鈥檝e been candid with you too.

I know that might not be easy for all of you.

I can think of a few reasons why not everyone in Sheffield will be delighted to hear from me this evening!

For one thing I鈥檓 a proud member of the Conservative Party.

It鈥檚 OK, you can boo if you want.

I鈥檓 also a big fan of the late Lady Thatcher.

When she spoke at this dinner 33 years ago she was greeted by 2,000 protesters being held back by mounted police.

It was one of the warmer welcomes she received in the north of England!

But if all that wasn鈥檛 bad enough, I have one more sin to confess to the good people of Yorkshire.

I come, originally, from a distant, foreign land.

A place many of you will find strange.

A little primitive.

Even a little scary.

That鈥檚 right.

I鈥檓 a Lancastrian.

I was born under the Red Rose, in Rochdale.

And the highlight of my year as Secretary of State for Sport was walking out from the pavilion at Old Trafford.

For that, I can only beg your forgiveness.

More than 400 years ago, calligrapher Peter Bales wrote that 鈥渇or a good knife 鈥� Sheffield is best鈥�.

That was back in 1590, half a century before the Cutlers鈥� Feast became an annual event.

Yet even then Sheffield鈥檚 name was forged into the public imagination as a byword for quality in manufacturing.

In 2016 that鈥檚 still the case.

The companies represented in this hall tonight are some of the finest engineers and metalworkers not just in Yorkshire or Britain but in the world.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean Sheffield itself has remained unchanged for half a millennium.

Ask many young people what this city means to them and they won鈥檛 mention heavy industry at all. They鈥檒l talk about the offbeat nightclubs. The Devonshire Quarter. Warp Records.

Business leaders will talk about the cutting-edge R&D and world-class universities.

Elite sportsmen and women will tell you about Ponds Forge or the Olympic Legacy Park.

Sheffield鈥檚 story has always been one of regeneration, reinvention and renewal.

Not forgetting the past or ignoring it, but building on it.

Learning from it.

Shunning conventional wisdom and focusing on what works.

That鈥檚 what makes this city so successful.

That鈥檚 what makes your businesses so successful.

And at risk of blowing my own trumpet, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 made our government鈥檚 support for industry so successful too.

That鈥檚 why I was slightly puzzled by the Senior Warden鈥檚 suggestion that Britain is crying out for an industrial strategy.

Because we already have one.

You can argue about what it should contain, what it should seek to achieve.

But you can鈥檛 deny that it exists.

My department has had a fully functioning industrial strategy for several years now.

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Working with business we鈥檝e taken real action to put in place the strategic support that British industry needs.

We鈥檝e set up the .

The .

The Automotive Investment Organisation.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

Today I visited the , which we鈥檝e supported with hundreds of millions of pounds.

There鈥檚 the Nuclear Industry Council and the Offshore Wind Investment Organisation.

We鈥檝e launched , Innovation Centres and Catalyst Funds.

A short walk from Cutlers鈥� Hall stands the headquarters of the .

That is what an industrial strategy looks like.

And the results are clear to see.

Manufacturing employment is up.

Manufacturing exports are up.

Manufacturing output is up.

All that in the face of an intensely competitive global market.

So I believe in industrial strategy all right.

I just think one that delivers growth and jobs is better than one delivers stagnation and decline.

And that applies to ALL industries, not just a chosen few.

Sheffield is still a manufacturing city in the UK鈥檚 manufacturing heartland.

But it鈥檚 also a city of vibrant, thriving cultural industries.

It鈥檚 home to a rapidly growing tourist industry.

To a retail sector that, from Meadowhall to Fargate to Division Street, employs tens of thousands of people.

And all those sectors deserve our support too.

So the old industrial strategy鈥檚 closed shop has been replaced with an open door.

We鈥檙e still supporting the 11 key sectors Vince Cable identified, that鈥檚 not changed.

But I鈥檓 not going to ignore a multi-billion pound part of the economy simply because its name鈥檚 not on the list.

Britain鈥檚 business leaders deserve a strategy as wide-ranging as the economy you serve so well.

A strategy of deeds, not words.

And that鈥檚 exactly what you鈥檙e getting from this government.

We鈥檙e cutting Corporation Tax to the lowest level of any major industrialised nation.

So more of your hard-earned profits stay right here in Yorkshire rather than being sent off to Whitehall.

We鈥檝e raised the investment allowance to its highest-ever permanent level.

So you don鈥檛 get penalised for putting money back into your businesses.

We鈥檝e lifted thousands of smaller companies out of Employer National Insurance Contributions.

So you don鈥檛 get taxed for creating jobs.

We鈥檝e passed the , cut billions of pounds of red tape and protected funding for science technology, innovation and the future of manufacturing.

And we鈥檙e continuing to take serious, sustained action to support the British steel industry.

Of course, there are some things no national government can do.

We cannot change the global steel price.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e standing by and doing nothing.

We were the first government to implement new guidelines making it easier for the public sector to buy British steel.

We have paid out tens of millions of pounds to compensate energy intensive industries, and we will be exempting them from renewable policy costs.

We鈥檙e working hard to help Tata find a buyer for its strip products and speciality steel division 鈥� I was at Stocksbridge just today.

We鈥檝e made it clear that we鈥檒l offer financial support to help secure a deal.

And, despite what some political point-scorers would have you believe, we are consistently fighting for British steel in Europe.

I pushed for and secured an emergency meeting of the EU Council to co-ordinate a continent-wide approach.

I secured flexibility over new emissions rules so that steel companies aren鈥檛 faced with even higher bills.

I have led calls for the speeding up of trade defence investigations.

And I have repeatedly supported tariffs on unfairly traded steel.

All have led to a significant drop in Chinese imports.

I鈥檓 not a fan of tariffs and duties.

I certainly don鈥檛 believe in protectionism.

But I鈥檓 even less keen on unfair trading.

And where the rules of the free market are being flouted, I won鈥檛 hesitate to step up and demand action.

Because I am a Business Secretary who is not afraid to fight for British industry.

Yes, I believe in the transformative power of capitalism.

Yes, I believe in free markets.

But, unlike some, I鈥檓 not bound by ideology.

I鈥檓 interested in doing what works, even if it means government stepping in to help.

That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to have introduced the National Living Wage.

That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to be introducing the Apprenticeship Levy.

And that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to play a role in creating a Northern Powerhouse.

I鈥檓 committed to it, and the government is committed to it.

It鈥檚 not just rhetoric.

It鈥檚 not just some short-term marketing campaign.

It鈥檚 a serious vision for the future of the North.

And it鈥檚 a vision that we鈥檙e working hard to turn into reality.

For too long, the north was neglected by successive governments.

As a result, productivity is lower than average.

Skill levels are lower.

In the region that gave the world the railways, transport infrastructure has been allowed to decay.

Repairing that damage will take time.

It won鈥檛 happen overnight.

But we鈥檙e in this for the long-haul.

Last autumn we pledged to invest 拢13 billion in northern transport over the course of this Parliament.

Sheffield will be connected to Britain鈥檚 new high speed rail network, linking this great city to its counterparts in the north, south and Midlands.

One of the National Colleges for High Speed Rail will be based in Doncaster.

Last year I took 50 companies to Singapore and Malaysia in the first-ever Northern Powerhouse overseas trade mission.

It was a huge success, helping employers from across the region build business links that will pay off for years to come.

Now the Senior Warden raised the Master Cutler鈥檚 forthcoming trade mission to Canada.

I can promise that I鈥檒l be looking into that. What we can still do to help, both before you set off and once you鈥檙e on the ground.

It鈥檚 the kind of project the government should be supporting.

And it鈥檚 exactly the kind of thing we have supported in the past.

Since 2012 we鈥檝e offered financial assistance to at least 3 South Yorkshire International Trade Forum trips.

Back here at home we鈥檙e investing 拢14 million in Sheffield鈥檚 Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre.

We鈥檙e investing 拢11 million in tech incubators here and in Manchester and Leeds.

拢250 million will help support the region鈥檚 Centre of Nuclear Excellence.

More than 拢300 million is coming to the Sheffield City Region through the local growth deal.

There鈥檚 拢8 million to build the digital infrastructure that all 21st century businesses rely on.

拢14 million for the Enterprise Zone at Markham Vale.

All this is possible because we believe that government should be investing in business, not in more government.

That we can鈥檛 go on spending and borrowing, manufacturing nothing but an ever-larger public sector.

That we cannot and should not leave a huge burden of debt for our children and grandchildren to pay off.

That鈥檚 why I told my department to find 拢350 million of savings over the next 5 years.

I want BIS to be leaner.

I want it to be more efficient, more flexible, more focussed, just like the businesses it serves.

I want us to be spending money where it can really make a difference.

Those 拢350 million savings are being found in lots of ways.

We鈥檙e cutting our headcount related to operating expenses by up to 40%.

We鈥檙e halving the number of public bodies.

And we鈥檙e reducing our number of offices.

The proposal to close our Sheffield office is one part of that.

This hall is full of business leaders.

You know that no employer ever takes pleasure in proposing redundancies, however necessary they may be.

It鈥檚 painful, it鈥檚 difficult.

And it鈥檚 certainly not a reflection of the quality of work being done at St Paul鈥檚 Place.

Nor is it a sign that we鈥檙e turning our backs on the north and hunkering down in London.

Even if all of the proposed restructuring goes ahead, more than 80% of BIS staff will still be based outside the capital.

We鈥檙e also reducing the size of our London footprint, both in terms of office space and headcount.

Above all, we鈥檙e doing more with less so that we can really focus on what matters most.

Delivering for businesses across the country, across Yorkshire, and right here in Sheffield.

But the Northern Powerhouse has never been just about investment in infrastructure.

It鈥檚 about giving the people of the north the tools they need to succeed, and the freedom they need to do so.

Nobody knows this part of the world better than you, and nobody is better-placed to build a better future for it.

That鈥檚 why a core plank of the powerhouse is devolution.

Next year the people of the Sheffield city region will vote for their first ever directly elected mayor.

Breaking down barriers between counties, cities and local authorities, allowing the people of the region to come together and work together to deliver success.

London, Bristol and Liverpool have been revolutionised by single elected mayors.

Now it鈥檚 your turn.

Of course, it鈥檚 not the only vote that鈥檚 coming up.

As you may have noticed, there鈥檚 the small matter of the EU referendum to deal with too!

As the Senior Warden said, the uncertainty is already causing problems for businesses here in Sheffield.

That鈥檚 something I鈥檓 hearing from businesses right across the UK.

But if on the 23 June we vote to leave the EU, we won鈥檛 wake up the next morning and find the uncertainty has evaporated.

British businesses will be looking at years of it while we unpick existing trade agreements and negotiate new ones.

I spent enough time in business to know that uncertainty, doubt and fear stops investment and kills jobs.

That鈥檚 the last thing Sheffield needs right now.

I recognise that the EU is a long way from perfect.

I share the Senior Warden鈥檚 concerns about the gold-plating of directives, something I鈥檓 personally leading the fight against in Whitehall.

So I鈥檓 certainly not some born-again Europhile.

But I do love British business and British industry.

I want them to succeed, I want them to thrive.

And that鈥檚 why I鈥檇 urge you all to head to the polling stations next month and vote for Britain to remain a member of the European Union.

Master Cutler, in centuries past this feast used to go on for up to two weeks.

I can鈥檛 imagine what that did to local productivity levels!

But times have changed, and I fear I鈥檝e already spoken for too long.

So let me finish by saying this.

These are exciting times for Sheffield.

And I鈥檓 not just talking about Wednesday making the play-off final!

Thanks to your ceaseless efforts and this government鈥檚 unstinting support, the number of jobs in and around Sheffield has risen by 60,000 since 2010.

More people are working, fewer are claiming benefits.

The city region has got more productive.

More than 20,000 young people have started an apprenticeship.

The challenges facing business are many.

However, Sheffield is responding by doing what it has always done.

Adapting, innovating, doing things nobody else can do.

And as long as you do that, as long as you strive to succeed through honest endeavour, I will be proud to stand alongside you.

I will do everything I can to help nurture and support that success.

And I will always be ready to listen.

300 years ago Sheffield steelworkers kept trying to take their trade secrets and set up shop on the continent.

I鈥檓 told the company spent a small fortune stopping them.

But the fact is that Europe and the world wanted the ideas and the products that only Sheffield could produce.

That鈥檚 what made 鈥楳ade in Sheffield鈥� a badge of honour in the first place.

And that鈥檚 why this city continues to thrive today.

So I鈥檓 not going to stand here and say 鈥淪heffield was great and can be great again鈥�.

Because I know that Sheffield IS great.

And together we can make it greater still.

My lords, ladies and gentlemen: 鈥淭he manufacturing industries of Hallamshire鈥�.