LISTEN | Burnham rallies North ‘to show Government our teeth’ over transport investment
A meeting of Northern council and Combined Authority leaders yesterday agreed that “the people of the North have waited long enough” for good quality transport infrastructure, and committed to create a ‘Council of the North’ to co-ordinate lobbying efforts.
Listen to the full interview with Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram here:
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, joined leaders from across Yorkshire and Newcastle to discuss how best to pressure Government to follow through on commitments to fund Northern transport projects.
In an interview with Place North West after the summit, Burnham called on the Government to debate the decision to fund Crossrail 2 when Parliament reconvenes, due to his belief that the London-centric investment would damage Northern transport plans, as “in my experience, there aren’t two pots of £30bn lying around Whitehall”.
Meanwhile, Rotheram said he wanted to see the Government invest £3bn in ensuring Liverpool is connected to the HS2 line when it routes through the North West, and form part of the first leg of Northern Powerhouse Rail. “If the Government truly wants to rebalance the economy they need to look at East-West connectivity,” he said.
