THE time is right for the North-East to take advantage of its potential and ensure the UK's economy removes the North-South divide, a leading politician said yesterday.

MP Vincent Cable, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the region was in a strong position to capitalise on the over-emphasis on the South and urged action to be taken.

Speaking at the Big Conversation conference at the Gateshead Sage yesterday, he said: "For many years, North-East England has lagged behind the rest of the UK in economic performance and enterprise formation, but there are many encouraging signs.

"With clear evidence that the South-East, particularly London, is becoming economically over-heated, this is now the ideal opportunity to ensure the British economy is rebalanced and enables the great potential of the North-East to be realised."

Leading businessmen and stakeholders attended the conference, which was organised by business support group Entrust to encourage debate on industry in the North-East.

Dan Brophy, chief executive of Entrust, said: "Although significant progress has been made in the region with regard to enterprise, the recent OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report can be simplified as, 'We must do better'."