Tories in £400m plan for Northern transport
Chancellor to back region after summer of criticism
THE CHANCELLOR will today attempt to draw a line under a summer of bad headlines as he uses his keynote speech at the Tory party conference to demonstrate the Government’s renewed support for the Northern Powerhouse Agenda.
Addressing delegates, Philip Hammond will announce £400m of investment in the region’s transport infrastructure, including a £300m fund to improve connections to the new HS2 route.
The money comes just over a week since Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s whistlestop tour of Leeds and Manchester amid the backlash over the Government’s plans to abandon rail electrification schemes. But Labour have dismissed the announcement, arguing that it falls far short of what is needed to reverse years of under-investment.
Mr Hammond’s speech will be delivered to a conference that is set to be dominated by talk of the party leadership. Theresa May used an interview this weekend to restate her intention to fight the next election, following reports that the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is preparing for a final bid to oust her from Number 10.
But in a sign of her weakened position in the wake of June’s election, she yesterday refused to reject the suggestion that Mr Johnson was “unsackable”. The former chancellor Michael Heseltine warned tensions between the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were “unsustainable”.
Mr Hammond will use today’s address to issue a rebuttal to the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after he launched an attack on the Tories’ “dogmatic” economic policies.
“Our economy is not broken: it is fundamentally strong,” the Chancellor will say. “And while no one suggests a market economy is perfect, it is the best system yet designed for making people steadily better off.”
And following a summer of criticism over the Government decision to reverse rail electrification schemes, he will announce £300m to create connections between the HS2 line and cities not directly on the route. It is understood this is in addition to £300m set aside to improve local rail services in last year’s budget.
“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 say.
“This investment will go towards ensuring HS2 infrastructure can link up with future Northern Powerhouse and Midlands rail projects – helping the towns and cities of the North reach their full potential.”
Responding to the news, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell described it as an “insult”. “This really is a drop in the ocean compared to what is actually needed for our creaking railways, roads and infrastructure,” he said. “After a year in the job, Philip Hammond just wants to continue with the seven years of Tory economic failure that has seen the level of investment in our country fall behind many of our international competitors. “
Poor infrastructure can be a barrier to progress. Chancellor Philip Hammond.
EDUCATION SECRETARY Justine Greening has defended a potentially costly pledge to freeze tuition fees as she dismissed accusations that the Government has abandoned its commitment to fiscal responsibility in a bid to woo young voters.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post at the Conservative conference in Manchester, the Rotherhamborn MP argued that the decision to cap fees at £9,250 next year is instead a sign that the Conservative approach to the economy is paying off.
She also outlined further details of how her department intends to spend part of a £70m fund set aside for investment in Northern schools.
This was announced alongside a raft of new housing measures, including a £10bn expansion of the Help to Buy scheme.
Theresa May has already sent a strong signal that she wants her Government’s offer to young people to be a core theme of this week’s conference.
Speaking ahead of the four-day event, the Conservative leader insisted that she had listened to concerns raised by younger voters during the election, and was more determined than ever “to act on those concerns”.
This position was solidified yesterday when Ms Greening announced plans to put a brake on a £250 increase to tuition fees next year. She also confirmed that the Government will raise the income threshold for repaying these fees – from £21,000 to £25,000.
Opponents were quick to criticise the proposals, accusing the Tories of mimicking Labour’s pledge to scrap fees and find ways to minimise the debt already accrued by graduates. They also pointed out that the Tories had attacked these plans – as well as Labour’s promise to end the public-sector pay cap – as financially inviable.
However, in an interview with regional journalists, Ms Greening said she “strongly disagreed” with the suggestion that the party was abandoning its record of economic restraint.
“What this shows is (that) responsible financial management of the economy is how you make sure you’ve got the funds to invest in our public services,” she said.
“We have focussed on running a strong economy that has created three million jobs. The benefits of that are not just the dignity of work... we also have a stronger public finances.”
She went on to claim that the policy “highlights the difference between Labour and the Conservative Party”. “What Labour was saying to young people was to scrap tuition fees. That would have been a massively regressive measure,” she said.
“If (university) is free, then fewer people can go... That is no way to drive social mobility.”
The Education Secretary also unveiled plans to invest £12m in establishing a new network of language and literacy “hubs” in Northern schools, with the money being drawn from a £70m pot earmarked for the Government’s Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy. This is in addition to a £6m investment in a series of maths hubs, which encourage schools to work together to drive up standards. And she offered a fresh defence of the Government’s academies programme, amid concerns about the future of schools affected by the collapse of the Wakefield City Academies Trust.
“I absolutely recognise the concerns that people have had at a local level. We will not tolerate schools that don’t do their best for pupils, that’s why we’re stepping in to make sure that these schools get re-brokered,” she told The Yorkshire Post.
“Overall, our country has seen a steady shift in the numbers of schools that Ofsted is rating good or outstanding... but we are determined to make sure that we focus on the remaining schools that aren’t.”