Keir Starmer has announced a landmark investment package to revive the “Victorian-era transport system in the North”.
The investments come as part of Labour’s “Plan for Change” that intends to boost growth for “everyone, everywhere” after “years of broken promises”.
The £1.7bn investment will be focused on the regions buses, roads and trams, and will be assisted with a further £415 million to “reboot key railways”, £330 million specifically for road maintenance and £270 for the regions bus services.
The North will therefore see over £2bn worth of investment which the government hopes “will have a transformative impact on people’s lives, connecting the great towns and cities of the North that have been cut off from each other for far too long, holding back its potential”.
The Prime Minister is expected to make these announcements at a speech held at a Northern factory today where he will discuss the importance of “unlocking growth in key sectors like Sheffield’s nuclear industry, booming fintech in Leeds, cutting-edge life sciences in Liverpool and Bradford’s new state-of-the-art TV and film studios”.
The government hopes that the investment will create a Northern economic hub similar to their plans for a Silicon Valley inspired Oxford-Cambridge arc, making the “Liverpool-Hull corridor an economic superpower”.
The PM has also backed plans to give more power and decision making ability to devolved regional mayors, backing plans initiated by Northern mayors including: the creation of a “mass transit system for West Yorkshire” in order to bring “growth to the largest city in Europe without a metro transport system”, building a new Merseyrail station in “Britain’s coolest neighbourhood”, the Baltic Triangle, to better connect the area to the rest of Liverpool, and fast-tracking an £80 million redevelopment of the Bury Interchange to improve bus and tram connectivity across Greater Manchester.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that “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”, going on to say that the “Government’s Plan for Change will end that£ and the investments will bolster the region’s neglected potential and make travelling between these historic Northern towns and cities quicker, easier and greener.”
While PM Keir Starmer spoke on his time living in Leeds, saying: “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.
“After years of false promises and under delivery, this government is delivering real change for the North.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are upgrading transport in the North, we are correcting years of unfairness that has gone before, and we are better linking our historic towns and cities. That means boosting living standards, putting more money in the pockets of working people, and restoring pride to communities.”
The plans have however been critiqued by the Conservatives, with the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Gareth Bacon, saying: “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 Conservatives’ policy of leveling-up saw major changes to the governance of local authorities in the UK, with greater levels of devolution given to some areas. Part of the initiative was focused on local infrastructure, including £4.7bn of investment split between the Midlands and North as part of the Local Transport Fund which was intended to fund new roads and transit systems as well as refurbishing and improving existing routes in the region.
Be nice if they could sort out ticket gates at Sheffield,the trains are packed going into and out of Sheffield as ticket staff can’t get through to check tickets and collect the monies.