A group of MPs and peers have written to the Chancellor Philip Hammond asking for £100bn to be spent on transport projects in the North of England.
80 MPs and peers from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership have asked the Chancellor to speed up the Northern Powerhouse Rail, which they say would create “economic revolutions” and which should be delivered by 2032, the same time as HS2 makes it to Leeds and Manchester.
the MP’s say the money should be phased in over the next 30 years to “reverse decades of underinvestment”.
Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake said:
“Bringing forward the delivery date of NPR to the same time as HS2 arrives in the North could see the coming generation enjoy further education and job opportunities currently beyond young people today, and stimulate significant growth for the whole of the UK.”
Lord Jim O’Neill, vice chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “As someone attracted to spend some time as a Minister because of the focus on the Northern Powerhouse, and being involved in the setting up of Transport for the North, getting a true state-of-the-art transport network is absolutely key.
“Affordable and quick trains connecting all key parts of the Powerhouse, are vital to delivering on the goal of raising productivity both across the North, and with it, the country as a whole.”
