THESE past few days of the election campaign will no doubt be an extremely busy time for all of the prime ministerial candidates, but I’d like to take a moment to remind them of the views of an important part of the country which does not get a direct vote.

The needs of businesses are often inter-twined with those of the individual, but there are many factors which have a larger impact on the business community. This community is keen to ensure that whichever party takes power has the best interests of the economy at heart.

Businesses have endured the sting of recession, they have felt the pain inflicted by the rapid and damaging contraction of the global economy and it is businesses that everyone is looking to to bring us out of the recession as swiftly and successfully as possible.

So as the parties prepare for tomorrow’s election, it is important for them to bear in mind the needs of businesses in the first stages of their potential new administration. It is the businesses that provide the growth, that sustain the economy and that provide the employment that everyone so desperately needs.

The whole of the North-East has a vested interest in our businesses’ success.

We need the incoming government to be clear on their plans to tackle the deficit. We heard last week that the three main parties’ plans are lacking in detail, and we need to see this detail fleshed out as soon as possible into a credible policy for economic recovery.

We want the new government to understand and acknowledge the impact that the potential rise in National Insurance contributions for employers will have on businesses in the UK, and on their plans for job creation in the future.

Spending for infrastructure needs to be protected, and we need guarantees that priority projects will be carried out in the North-East – particularly the inclusion of the region in plans for a high-speed rail network and the proposed A1 dualling, north of Newcastle.

However, when the winning party’s policies take shape after the election we would like to see all decisions which affect the North-East undergo the North East Chamber of Commerce’s proposed economic recovery test.

Whichever leader we welcome to Number 10 on Friday will have a serious job on his hands to fix the economy. We believe they will only succeed by working with businesses every step of the way.

■ Martyn Pellew is the president of the North East Chamber of Commerce