North is promised £400m ‘to spread the benefits of Brexit’
PHILIP Hammond last night announced an extra £400million for transport links in the north of England to ensure the economic benefits of Brexit are spread across the country.
Ahead of his keynote speech to the Tory conference today, the Chancellor unveiled £300million for new rail projects and £100million for roads to boost the Government’s “Northern Powerhouse” initiative.
He is to use his speech to launch a passionate defence of the free market and savage Labour’s socialist plans for the country as “dangerous and outdated”. “We are the party of progress,” he will say.
Mr Hammond’s Treasury boost for transport is designed to foster growth in the north of England and rebalance the economy away from the current dominance of London. Ministers believe improved road and rail links will help ensure the benefits of the new global trade opportunities opened up by Brexit can be spread far beyond the capital. The rail cash is to be used for new links to the proposed HS2 high-speed route with cities across the North, speeding up journey times between Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and York.
Mr Hammond promised £100million more for new road schemes in the North, funding 33 major new road schemes – 10 in the North-east, 13 in the Northwest and 10 in Yorkshire and the Humber. He said: “Poor infrastructure can be a barrier to progress. That’s why, as the party of progress, we are investing record amounts to strengthen transport links.” Mr Hammond will use his speech in Manchester to make an impassioned defence of the free market against Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist plan for Britain.
The Chancellor will condemn Labour’s blueprint for sweeping nationalisation and state control as a “dangerous and outdated ideology”. He is expected to say: “Our economy is not broken, it is fundamentally strong.
“While no one suggests a market economy is perfect, it is the best system yet designed for making people steadily better off over time and underpinning strong and sustainable public services for everyone.
“As this model comes under renewed assault, we must not be afraid to defend it. The market economy frees people and businesses, encourages them to create, take risks, give ideas a go because they can see the results and benefit from their success. It’s the profits from such businesses that underpin our savings and our pensions. And the wealth that a strong market economy creates which, in the end, pays for public services.”
He will add: “We are... the party that makes a clear commitment to the next generation that they will be better off than us and that their children will be better off again than them. This is the Conservative definition of progress. I pledge to the next generation: we will not let you down.”
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “This investment will help to reduce traffic congestion in the North-west, North-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, will give better journey times [and] open access to sites for housing development and employment in the North.”