PM says public transport system in north of England is stifling potential
The Conservatives have dismissed the government’s north of England transport announcement (see 9.13am) as a rehash of plans they came up with first. This is from Gareth Bacon, the shadow transport secretary.
Keir Starmer is right that Labour mayors have neglected public transport in the north, but simply re-announcing projects the previous Conservative government had planned, set aside funding for, and announced is hardly a major step forward.
While we are glad that they are going to take forward the plans we conceived, Labour’s recklessly ideological rail reforms will give the trade unions the power to hold the north to ransom, condemning passengers to chaos, confusion, and cancellations.
The north is home to a wealth of talent and ingenuity. But for too long, it has been held to ransom by a Victorian-era transport system which has stifled its potential. I lived in Leeds for years, I get that this has real-world impacts – missed appointments, children late to school, work meetings rescheduled – all leading to insecurity and instability for working people.
My government won’t stand by and watch. We are rolling up our sleeves, and today’s downpayment for growth is a vote of confidence in the north’s world-beating industries …
For too long, the north has been left behind and relied on a crumbling transport system that’s not fit to serve the great towns and cities it’s home to.
The government’s Plan for Change will end that and schemes like the TransPennine route upgrade will bolster the region’s neglected potential and make travelling between these historic northern towns and cities quicker, easier and greener.
The prime minister will today set out plans to make the Liverpool-Hull corridor an economic superpower – rivalling the Oxford-Cambridge arc – kickstarted with £1.7bn this year …
This comes on top of funding announced today:
