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North East business leaders have warned Boris Johnson that he must make good on his promise to invest in the North, after the Conservative Party won a massive majority in the General Election.

In the run-up to the election, Mr Johnson鈥檚 party vowed to invest heavily if it won the election, including promising to spend an additional 拢100bn on infrastructure and making promises of new rail lines in Northumberland and Teesside.

Now the North East England Chamber of Commerce is calling on Mr Johnson to stick to the pledges he made in the run up to the election - and do so quickly.

In a statement the Chamber said: 鈥淲e look forward to working constructively with Boris Johnson following his election victory and return to 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. Businesses in our region will be hoping that stability and certainty will now ensue following a period of unprecedented political turmoil.

鈥淏rexit is the number one challenge facing the Government and we continue to be steadfast in our view that a No Deal situation must be avoided at all costs. The Prime Minister must now listen to the views of businesses across the country and work to secure a Brexit outcome that preserves our strong trading relationship with the EU and which does not harm our economic competitiveness.

鈥淒omestically, the warm words we have heard about investment in the North, including in our key infrastructure priorities, must be swiftly translated into actions. Our region cannot afford to be left in the slow lane for years to come.鈥�

Meanwhile, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership has called for the new Government to focus its efforts on fixing the North-South divide.

Henri Murison, director of Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: 鈥淏oth main parties stood in this election on a programme of closing the North 鈥� South divide, in large part in response to the Power up the North campaign led by our regional newspapers.

鈥淎s the electoral battleground for the future is now firmly here in the North of England in the North East, from Cumbria down to Cheshire and right across the M62 belt of industrial towns into South Yorkshire and the banks of the Humber, the Northern Powerhouse is non-negotiable at any future General Election 鈥� with education, industrial policy and transport infrastructure the priorities.

鈥淲e expect significant legislative agenda, including on devolution, as well as key decisions in a budget early next year, which will demonstrate whether the Prime Minister will capitalise on his victory to make his party relevant in places like Bishop Auckland or across in Workington if the Labour Party leadership and Brexit are in future elections removed as concerns for working class voters.鈥�

Despite the Conservative victory, a farmers鈥� leader from Northumberland has warned that lengthy Brexit negotiations still need to be carried out.

Mark Bridgeman, president of the Country Land and Business Association, who farms in Northumberland, said: 鈥淢any will breathe a sigh of relief that this result at least brings a degree of political certainty. But for all the claims of 鈥榞etting Brexit done鈥� the idea that Brexit ends on 31 January is wrong.

鈥淎ssuming we leave the EU later this month, we will have less than a year to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with Europe or else once again No Deal is back on the table. This timeframe is hugely optimistic.

鈥淣ever forget though the extent to which European agriculture needs a deal with the 海角视频 鈥� the EU runs a 拢20bn agriculture trade surplus with the 海角视频, and a traded goods surplus of almost 拢100bn.

鈥淭he idea that the EU can shrug off a dramatically reduced trade relationship with the 海角视频 is na茂ve. With a stable government in place, at least the Prime Minister can negotiate with a greater degree of strength than before the election.

鈥淲e will do what we can to help Government negotiate comprehensive agreements not just with the EU but across the world. But Government needs to earn the trust of rural communities by guaranteeing that 海角视频 farmers will not be undercut by cheap imports produced to lower standards.鈥�