More power to the North

YOU would think the job title might give a clue as to the responsibilities of being the Northern Powerhouse Minister.

And you’d think one of those responsibilities would include frequent visits to the North. We now know the former holder of the title James Wharton spent most of his time in London.

If this were not insulting enough the Government then used £40,000 of taxpayers’ money trying to stop this information being revealed.

The Tories’ commitment to the North has always been skin deep and the creation of a special minister always smacked of a PR exercise rather than a genuine attempt to champion the region.

If Wharton had spent more time there, he would have realised how it is starved of funds compared with the South. He would have seen the need to invest in education, skills and transport to improve the area’s potential.

Under the Tories we have not had a Northern Powerhouse but a Northern power failure.