Today, the effect of decades of underinvestment still holds far too many people back and our economy remains profoundly unequal. Across the whole of the North, a two-tier economy has been allowed to fester, creating a postcode lottery of jobs and opportunity, where your life chances are far too often determined by the place you were born.

This is nowhere clearer than in Derry. This is a city without the university of size that was promised, without the investment that has been pledged and without the jobs that are so badly needed.

We have been forced to watch a commuter economy develop around Belfast which monopolises jobs and opportunity within its suburbs while this region, despite its unrivalled potential, is left further and further behind. On each of the key indices, our district is outperformed by around ten per cent and the gap between those highest and lowest performing areas remains stubbornly wide.

Too often, government here in Northern Ireland has turned a blind eye to this imbalance and the inequality it has produced. Instead of acting, successive Executives have allowed those areas that have done well to do even better still in the hope that, eventually, all communities will benefit.

It’s time to change the approach.

The people of Northern Ireland deserve a truly balanced economy, where everyone can make the most of their talents, no matter where they are born. Building such an economy will not happen overnight, but neither will it happen by accident. It will require deliberate and proactive policies and we are convinced that addressing the persistent geographic disparities must now become the law of the land once and for all.

This document articulates that vision and makes the case for binding legislation that will transform the fortunes, not just of my city but of every area across Northern Ireland that has been let down and left behind. Over the coming months, we will make the case for the legislation in this mandate of the Northern Ireland Assembly. We remain convinced that despite the challenges ahead, it is within our power to seize the opportunity before us and build an economy that works for everyone.